I narrowed my brows, but I couldn’t even muster an ounce of annoyance. “I’m not used to being loved by someone. To feeling…” I didn’t even know if this was the moment to confess, but I pushed on. “I’ve spent my life making sure I didn’t care too much about anything or anyone. It’s what made me effective.”
“And I’m making you ineffective.” It wasn’t a question.
“You’re making me human.” The truth slipped out before I could filter it.
Isabella’s eyes widened slightly, but she recovered quickly, her expression softening. “And you don’t like to be human?”
“No.” I met her gaze directly.
The word hung between us, weightier than I’d expected. I’d never admitted this to anyone, not even my siblings.
“Why not?” Her voice was gentle, encouraging.
I looked away, fixing my gaze on the steam curling from the water. “It means you feel fear.”
“Fear of what?”
“Of needing you? Of how quickly you became important to me. Of what that meant for everything I’d built my life around. Of love.”
Her hand emerged from the water, droplets trailing down her arm as she traced her finger along the surface of the water.
“It’s never black and white in our world, is it?” she said softly. “Not when you’re used to working in the shadows. Not when you fall for your enemy.”
I watched the ripples her finger created, spreading across the water between us.
“Not ideal starting conditions for a relationship.”
I took her hand in mine, studying the contrast between us, her elegant fingers against my calloused palm. “I love you, Shorty. And that changes everything.”
“It certainly does.” She leaned her head back against the edge of the tub. “I withdrew, too,” she admitted. “After that night. I was scared of what it meant that I’d let you that close. That I felt so much so soon. And when you behaved as if nothing happened—I…kinda overreacted.”
I brushed my thumb across her knuckles, watching goose bumps rise on her arm despite the warm water.
“We’re quite a pair,” I said, a hint of dark humor in my voice. “Both running from the same thing.”
“And now?” she asked, vulnerability clear in her expression.
“Now I’m done running.”
The words felt like a vow, and I meant them as one. “Grey is still out there, and instead of hunting him, I’m here. With you.”
“Cara is still in danger, and instead of being out there, I’m here. With you,” she said.
“Do you regret it?” My voice was steady, but I caught the slight tension in her shoulders.
“Do you?”
“No.” The certainty in my voice surprised even me. “I made my choice. You. Over everything else.”
A small smile touched her lips, genuine this time. “That’s quite a declaration from someone who wouldn’t even look at me this morning.”
“A lot has changed since this morning,” I answered.
“So what now? What happens after…this?” She gestured vaguely between us.
It was a fair question, one I had no clear answer for. My entire life had been my family and the Paraskia. Now I’d walked away from it for her in a way that made my future uncharted territory.
“I don’t know,” I admitted.
