"I'm sorry," I whispered, the words feeling wholly inadequate for the magnitude of what I'd done. My voice trembled, tears already tracking down my cheeks as I watched the man who always had the perfect quip, the clever comeback, the charming deflection, sit before me stripped of all his armor. "Leo, I'm so sorry?—"
"I know you are." He stood abruptly, the movement sharp and restless, and moved to the window with long strides that ate up the distance. He pressed one hand against the glass, his back to me, his shoulders a rigid line of tension beneath his shirt. The firelight caught the gold in his hair, but there was nothing warm about his posture, he was a man barely holding himself together. "But sorry isn't enough. Not this time. I need more than apologies, Avalon. I need you to understand, reallyunderstand, what words mean to me. And what it meant to lose them."
He turned to face me, and there was something fierce in his expression now, something that made my Omega sit up and take notice.
"My punishment isn't pain," he said, his voice dropping to something low and intense that made heat pool in my belly despite the gravity of the moment. His blue eyes blazed with an intensity I'd never seen from him before, not the playful heat of flirtation, but something deeper, something primal. "It isn't control or devotion or knowledge. It's words. You're going to give me words, Ava. You're going to tell me, out loud, in detail, exactly how you feel about me. About us. About what you almost threw away."
He moved closer with each sentence, stopping directly in front of my chair, towering over me, his presence overwhelming. I had to tilt my head back to meet his gaze, and the position made me feel small, vulnerable, completely at his mercy. "And you're not going to stop talking until I believe you."
My breath caught in my throat. "Leo?—"
"Every thought," he continued, his blue eyes burning into mine with an intensity that made it hard to breathe. He was so close I could smell him, that intoxicating blend of cedar and sunshine and something uniquely Leo that made my Omega purr with recognition. "Every feeling. Every fear and hope and desire. You're going to put them into words for me, because that's what I need. That's how I understand. That's how I heal."
He reached down and took my hands, his fingers warm and strong as they wrapped around mine, pulling me to my feet so we were standing face to face. This close, I could see the slight tremor in his jaw, the vulnerability he was trying so hard to hide beneath the commanding words.
"Can you do that for me, Red?" His voice was softer now, cracking around the edges, the nickname he'd given me carrying a weight it never had before. His thumb traced circles on the back of my hand, a gentle counterpoint to the intensity of his gaze. "Can you give me your words?"
"Yes," I whispered, my heart pounding so hard I was sure he could hear it. My voice came out breathless, reverent, a promise wrapped in a single syllable. "Yes, Leo. Whatever you need. I'll tell you everything." Something flickered in his eyes, hope, maybe, or relief. He led me to a chaise lounge by the fire, pulling me down beside him so we were facing each other, our knees touching.
"Start from the beginning," he said, settling back against the arm of the chaise, his body angled toward mine, his blue eyes fixed on my face with an intensity that made me feel like I was the only thing in the world that mattered. The firelight played across his features, softening the sharp lines of his jaw, the aristocratic slope of his nose. "Tell me how you feel about me. And don't hold anything back."
I took a deep breath, searching for the right words.
"When I first met you," I began, my voice shaking, "I thought you were just... charming. Easy. The kind of man who flirts with everyone and means nothing by it." I saw him flinch slightly, and I reached out to take his hand. "Then I started to see beneath that. The way you use humor to deflect when things get too real. The way you light up a room just by walking into it. The way you can make anyone feel special, feel seen, feel important."
I squeezed his hand, willing him to understand.
"I realized that the charm isn't fake, it's just armor. You use it to protect yourself, to keep people at a distance, because somewhere along the way you learned that letting people in means getting hurt." His breath caught, and I saw tears gathering in his eyes.
"I love you, Leo," I said, the words coming easier now, flowing out of me like water finally released from a dam. I watched his face as I spoke, watched the way his eyes widened slightly, the way his breath caught, the way hope flickered to life in those beautiful blue depths. "Not despite the charm, but because of it. Because underneath all those jokes and smiles is the kindest, most caring man I've ever known. You make me laugh when I want to cry. You make me feel beautiful when I feel broken. You see me, the real me, and you love me anyway."
A tear tracked down his cheek, a single silver line that caught the firelight, and I reached up to brush it away with my thumb. His skin was warm beneath my touch, and he leaned into my palm like a man starving for contact.
"When I ran, I wasn't running from you," I continued, my own tears falling freely now, dripping off my chin onto our joined hands. My voice was thick with emotion, but I forced the words out anyway, knowing he needed to hear them as much as I needed to say them. "I was running from myself. From my fear. From the voice in my head that said I didn't deserve this, didn't deserve you, any of you. I was so scared of being happy that I sabotaged it before it could be taken away."
"Ava—" His voice broke on my name, cracking like a dam about to burst. His hand came up to cover mine where it rested on his cheek, pressing my palm harder against his skin, as if he was afraid I might disappear if he didn't hold on tight enough.
"I'm not done," I said softly, gently but firmly. I held his gaze, letting him see the truth in my eyes, the love, the regret, the unwavering certainty of what I was about to say. "You asked for words. Let me give them to you." He nodded, his hand tightening on mine.
"When I was out there in the snow, dying, do you know what I thought about?" I asked. "You. All of you. I thought about your laugh, and your stupid jokes, and the way you look at me likeI'm the most precious thing in the world. I thought about all the moments we'd never have, all the words we'd never say, all the love I'd thrown away because I was too scared to accept it." I shuddered as I gave him all my words.
"I choose you, Leo. Not because I have to. Not because of the bond. But because you're you — brilliant and funny and kind and so much more than you let anyone see. I choose your words, your laughter, your heart. I choose all of it. Forever." I cupped his face in both hands now, my thumbs tracing the sharp lines of his cheekbones, wiping away the tears that continued to fall.
For a long moment, he just stared at me, tears streaming down his face, his blue eyes swimming with so much emotion I thought I might drown in it. His lips parted like he wanted to speak, but no words came and from a man who always had words, that silence said everything.
Then he surged forward, pulling me so I was straddling him and kissed me. It wasn't gentle. It wasn't playful. It was desperate and deep and filled with all the words he couldn't say. His hands fisted in my hair, tilting my head back, his tongue sweeping into my mouth like he was trying to taste the truth of my words. I moaned against his lips, my body melting into his, my Omega purring at the intensity of his need. Heat flooded through me, pooling between my thighs, slick already beginning to gather.
"More words," he gasped against my mouth, pulling back just far enough to speak, his breath hot and ragged against my swollen lips. His blue eyes were dark with desire now, the pupils blown wide, and his hands trembled where they gripped my hips. "I need more. Tell me what you want. Tell me what you need. Use your words, Ava."
"I want you," I breathed, my hands fumbling with the buttons of his shirt, my fingers clumsy with desperation. I could feel his heart pounding beneath my palms, racing as fast as myown. "I need you. I need to feel you inside me, Leo. I need you to make me yours."
He groaned, his hands moving to strip off my clothes with an urgency that made me shiver. He pulled my shirt over my head, then my pants, leaving me in just my underwear. His eyes raked over my body, dark with hunger.
"All of it," he demanded, his voice rough with need, his blue eyes dark and hungry as they devoured every inch of exposed skin. His chest was heaving, his golden hair disheveled from my fingers, and he looked like something wild and beautiful and desperate. "I want to see every inch of you."
I reached back to unhook my bra, letting it fall away. Then I lifted my hips to slide my panties down, kicking them off until I was completely bare before him. The cool air raised goosebumps on my skin, my nipples pebbling into hard peaks.
"Beautiful," he breathed, his hands hovering just above my skin without touching, close enough that I could feel the heat radiating from his palms. His eyes traced over my body with reverent hunger, cataloging every curve, every freckle, every rise and fall of my chest as I breathed. "Tell me what you want me to do."
