I hold her tight, trying to hold it together for the both of us.
Her tears soak through the shirt, hot against my skin.
My hands rub up and down her back as I do my best to soothe her.
After a couple of minutes, she pulls back and dries her eyes, wiggling her way out of my embrace. She takes careful steps back, dodging debris.
“I didn’t think we could take you to a hospital. Figured Noah is going to be looking for you.” Her voice wavers as she looks just past me, like she can’t bear the thought of looking at me like this. That might be the part that hurts the most. “Sean brought you some clean clothes.”
“Jade—”
She holds up a hand. “If you’re going to tell me that you’re going back to Noah and that shitshow of a life you have, then I need you to just not. You showed up here in the worst condition I’ve ever seen. You went to that damn fight.”
“I took a beating so I could come here to you. He couldn’t kill me. He needed me to win.”
“But not anymore. Not now that you’ve fucked him over. You’re a dead man walking and if that’s what you’re rushing back into, I don’t want any part of it.”
“What if I told you that I’m not going back?” I take a step toward her, but she scrambles back. “I don’t want that life anymore, Jade. You were right. I should’ve been here with you. I shouldn’t be chasing something that’s only going to kill me in the end when I have you standing here and telling me that there’s another way.”
“You’re lying to me right now. You’re telling me what you think I want to hear.”
“I may have done a lot of shit, but I’ve always been honest with you.” I let her keep the space between us. “I love you. I adoreyou. I want to spend the rest of my life worshipping the ground you walk on.”
“I don’t believe that.” She sniffles, her eyes a little watery. “You went to that fight.”
I wince as something pulls tight when I shift my weight from one foot to another. “Because I’m an idiot. Which you’ve told me several different ways already. I’m a shit partner, but I want to be better.”
Her bottom lip quivers. “Say it again.”
“I’m a shit partner?”
The corner of her mouth twitches. “The part where you love me.”
“I love you.” My voice rasps as I step closer to her. “And I’ll spend every day for the rest of our lives making you believe that.”
“Fuck you.” Her tears start to fall as she looks up at me, but there’s no real heat to her words. “Fuck you for making me love you.”
I grin and cup her face in my hands, wiping her tears, barely believing my luck. “So, you love me, then?”
She laughs and leans into me a little, even though there’s still some hesitation in her eyes. “Yes. I love you.”
“Thank fuck.”
I lean in and kiss her. I’ve never been good at this kind of thing. Not before her.
She’s the love of my life, and I’ve known it since the moment I tracked her down online and started talking to her.
As I slide my tongue along her lower lip, she lets out a breathy moan.
Her hands roam up my chest, holding onto my shoulders, her fingers sinking into me.
My cock swells as I press into her, walking her back until we hit what’s left of a counter.
She lifts herself up on the edge, and I step between her thighs.
“You’re hurt,” she says as I trail kisses down her neck, sucking on her pulse.
I pull her shirt over her head, tossing it to the side. “Not hurt enough for this. We’re just going to have to go slow and be a little gentler.”
