She chews her lower lip. "I don't want to be afraid anymore."
"We'll figure out a way to bury GLT or erase your tie to it."
She’s silent for a few miles. The tires hum against the asphalt.
Then she quietly says, “You didn’t drown.”
“No.”
“You survived.”
I nod once.
She turns in her seat, watching me like she’s seeing something new. “You taught yourself not to feel so you could live.” Her voice steadies. “But you came back for me. That wasn’t cold.”
That lands harder than anything else she’s said.
“It was you,” I say, voice rough with another emotion I don’t have a name for.
Her fingers curl into my jeans at my thigh.
For a second she just sits there, watching me like she’s trying to decide how to say something. “You’re not broken.”
Something tight in my chest shifts.
“I don’t want you cold with me, Dallas.” Her palm slides higher. “Can we stop for the night?”
I glance at her.
Gemma meets my gaze. Heat burns in her smoky eyes, lighting my body up. I force my gaze back onto the road before we wreck and find the first hotel available.
CHAPTER EIGHT
DALLAS
The hotel room door shuts behind us with a soft click.
Gemma doesn’t move toward the bed right away.
She stands there, watching me.Waiting.
The silence stretches.
My hand comes up to cradle her jaw. I brush her lower lip with my thumb, savoring the touch.
“Gemma,” I murmur. “If we do this… I don’t know how to give you half of me.”
Her fingers slide into the front of my shirt, curling into the fabric over my chest. Right over my heart. “Then don’t,” she whispers.There's no fear in her voice. No hesitation.
That's the moment I realize I love her.
I pull her to me and kiss her.Claiming her.
She meets me halfway.
Her hands slide up my shoulders and into my hair, tugging me closer.
I slide my palms down her back and over her hips, cupping her ass until she’s pressed against my hard length. “Feel what you do to me,” I whisper against her lips.
