With an unexpected sob, I scoot forward and melt into his waiting arms.
Instantly, his warmth soothes me. Good grief. I missed him so much.
How did Ieverthink I could walk away from this man and the way he loves me?
“Thank you for trusting me enough to open up. That had to be so hard. But you don’t ever have to be alone again, sweetheart. You know that, right? Even if I’m not part of the equation, even if it’s just Tremblay and Noah—”
“No,” I snap, refusing to let him continue with that line of thinking. “I hate what happened. I hate what you did to Ty and why you did it. But the last thing I want is a future without you in it. I can’t quit you, Merce.”
I nuzzle deeper into his arms, inhaling the salt water and citrus scent I’ve come to associate with him.
“I need you,” I murmur, my lips pressed to his neck. “I love you.”
He stills in my arms.
I freeze, too.
I didn’t plan to say that. Shit. Will he think I’m only saying it in hopes of making him stay? I didn’t mean—
He pulls back, gripping me by the shoulders and searching my face. Rather than warmth, his dark eyes are filled with caution and questions.
Finally, he releases a shaky, jagged exhale, and he breaks.
His mouth falls open, and a pained sob escapes. And then he’s crying in earnest, tears streaming down his cheeks.
I move to swipe them away, but he shakes his head and tightens his grip on my upper arms, holding me at arm’s length, head hanging between his shoulders, his upper body trembling.
My heart is bleeding out. I need to comfort him. But when I try to shift closer again, he locks his muscles and firms his hold. “Just give me a minute,” he says without looking up.
So I do.
I sit in front of him, my stomach roiling and my anxiety going haywire. Did I share too much? Or push him too far? I sit and I wait, gnawing on my bottom lip. I finish off the bottle of water, yet my throat goes dry.
When Mercer finally looks up, I release an anxious breath, my whole body deflating.
His eyes are bloodshot and swollen, but his gaze has softened and resolve has replaced the reservedness from moments ago.
“You… you incredible creature.” He shakes his head, laughing dryly. “Jesus H, sweetheart. You didn’t even let me get a word in before presenting a masterclass in vulnerability and telling me youlove me.”
Warmth floods my cheeks. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“Don’t you dare apologize.” He straightens and inches closer. “Just put me out of my fucking misery and kiss me already.”
He hovers, attention flitting from my eyes to my lips and back, waiting for me to make the first move.
Heart in my throat, I close the space between us and press my mouth to his.
He takes control immediately, weaving one hand through my hair and dragging the tip of his tongue along the seam of my lips.
I open for him willingly. Wantonly and joyfully.
“Merce.” I shift closer, silently demandingmore.
Tragically, he doesn’t give me what I want.
Instead, he pulls back, keeping a hand in my damp hair, and brushes his nose over mine before kissing the tip.
“I love you, too,” he says, each word doused in warm sincerity that soothes my insides and shrouds me in a sense of calm.
