Even though I know I should pull away and run right out that door to save this man from my mistakes, I can’t bring myself to do it. Not when he focuses on me so intently, holds me so tightly, and seems so determined to make me listen, as if what he’s about to say could change everything.
“You’re going to stay in McBride Mountain.” His hands tremble against my face. “And when you’re ready, you’re going to tell me exactly what’s going on. But I’m not going to force you to do it right now because I’ve been in your shoes—hell, I still am—and I know what it’s like to not want to talk about something that’s traumatic. So, I’m not going to pressure you.” He shakes his head. “I’m just going to pray that eventually you’ll understand that this place is safe. That I’m safe. That you can trust me. That we can protect you here, and whatever the problem is, we can face it together.”
My heart lodges in my throat, and I struggle to swallow through it while his piney, spicy scent invades my breath. “Why would you want to do that for me?”
It’s the second time I’ve asked that question, but it’s the one that won’t stop running through my head endlessly.
No one in my life has ever done anything even remotely so kind for me.
No one has ever seemed so intent on helping me when it doesn’t benefit them in any way.
No one has ever cared.
Just like before, the look he gives me answers it before he opens his mouth.
“Because I need you to stay. Selfishly.” He grins. “Because I’m in love with your fuckin’ dog.”
Gizmo barks as if he heard what was said about him and not only completely understood it but agrees with the sentiment. Given the way he smothers the man, I’m sure he appreciates the declaration as much as I do.
Giz tries to climb up Liam’s leg, but his hands stay locked on my face.
I fight the quiver in my lip that matches the unsteady beat of my heart right now. “My dog, huh?”
Liam nods, trailing his fingertips across my cheek reverently. “Yep.” His gaze dips to my mouth before coming back up again. “And I really like you, too.”
Hell…
If I hadn’t already started falling for Liam McBride, I would have taken that dive just now. At this exact moment. Because staring into his eyes after he said those words feels like I’m cartwheeling down the mountain all the way from its highest peak. Spinning out of control but in an exhilarating way, not a scary one.
But I should be scared.
I should be terrified.
Everything in me, all those learned behaviors and self-protective instincts, scream at me to move, to grab my bag and keep running, to do what I’ve always done and keep going, to find a new place and people I won’t care about. Somewhere I can disappear and live quietly with Gi without handsome mountain men complicating things.
It would be the easier decision. It would be the one I would have made had I met Liam under any other circumstances. I would have chosen to run.
But I can’t force myself to move away from him.
I can’t make my legs go.
And I can’t back away as he leans in and presses his lips to mine again.
This kiss is softer, sweeter, more reserved than the one we shared at the shop. More like a promise that everything he just told me is absolutely true. Not that I didn’t believe it then, but the way he kisses me ensures it. It seals his resolve and my inability to walk away.
I’m safe with Liam McBride.
I’m safe wrapped in his arms and in his town.
As long as the past doesn’t catch up with me.
Right now, that’s all I can hope for—that these nightmares I have when I manage to doze off sitting in that chair at night don’t come true. That my mistakes don’t come back to hurt this man or anyone else in this town I’ve come to care about.
He deepens the kiss, his mouth moving over mine with an insistence and urgency I feel all the way to my core.
I groan and press my body to his, needing to feel his hard strength, needing to know that he’s right here and he’s not going anywhere; exactly what he just promised me. When he pulls away and presses his forehead to mine, both of our breaths labored, a little rumble of appreciation floats from his chest to mine.
“It’ll be okay, Lucky. Whatever it is, I promise you, we’ll figure it out.”
