“Please,” he says.
My walls dissolve, so easily, so effortless. All it takes is a look in his eyes or a crack in his voice to strip me bare, and my self-preservation falls by the wayside. I nod. “Yeah. Okay,” I breathe out. “Come in.”
We shuffle into my room, the door clicking shut behind us. Not a second later, I’m in his arms. Smashed against his chest, his hands in my hair, his body warm and hard and safe.
“I’m sorry.” He kisses the top of my head, lips lingering as he inhales my scent. “So sorry.”
Cautiously, I wrap my arms around his middle and press my cheek to his swiftly beating heart. “You don’t need to apologize.”
“I do. You deserved more. Better than that,” he says, his breath tickling my baby hairs. “We deserved better.”
I shake my head against him. “I don’t need shooting stars and serenades, Chase. I just need you. You taught me not to shut down when things get messy…now I need you to do the same.” I lift my head and stare up at him through glazed eyes. “I don’t care if our first time was on a dirty amp or a bed of roses. That doesn’t matter. What matters is what comes after. Every moment that follows.”
He wavers, his face in creases. Then he untangles himself from my arms. “I just…I don’t want to be like him.”
I frown. “What do you mean?”
“Alex,” he says, gritting out the name. “I can’t be like him. If I hurt you, it’s over. I’m done. I’ll never fucking forgive myself.”
My pulse revs, unease coursing through my veins. “Why would you think that?”
“Because something’s fucking wrong.” He jabs a finger to his temple. “With me. With my goddamn head. I’m losing control. I don’t recognize myself anymore. There’s thisthinginside of me, like a fucking parasite. It’s loud. It’s dangerous. It’s breaking me the fuck apart.”
I gape at him, wide-eyed, my heart fracturing. “Chase, no…” Reaching for him, I take his hand, linking our fingers together. “They’re just migraines. The music, the noise—it’s making it worse. But you’re okay. You are. When we get home, you can see your doctor again, get stronger meds. You can—”
“I meant every word I said.” He stares down at the floor, jaw tight, his palm squeezing mine. “I meant it, Annie. I love you. I shouldn’t have said it like that, in the heat of the moment, but God help me, I’ve never meant anything more.”
A gasp falls out of me.
Tendrils of beautiful disbelief.
My eyes water as I take a step toward him. I wait for him to look at me before whispering, “I love you too.”
His eyes shimmer with incredulity.
God, his eyes—the true source of his power. And it’s not in the glints of gold or the unique amber swirl. It’s deeper. He looks at me in a way that makes it so easy to fall in love.
I was helpless the moment our gazes locked in that rearview mirror.
“I love you,” I repeat, breathless, soaked in relief like a weight’s been lifted. I take his hand again. “You’ve always seen me, from day one. When no one else listened, you heard me. When I doubted myself, you fought for me. You carried my dreams when they were too heavy for me to hold. You were there, even when I gave my heart to someone else. You stayed. And you believed in me anyway.”
His breath shudders. His fingers tighten around mine like he’s afraid if he lets go, the moment will evaporate.
Tears spill down my cheeks as I press closer. “You were my safe place before I even realized I needed one. You always have been.” I take his face between myhands, lower his forehead to mine. “That’s the man you are. Don’t question that. Don’t ever doubt that.”
Exhaling a long breath, his lashes flutter, his arms circling around me. “I’m a fucking mess,” he rasps, burying his face in the curve of my neck. “But I love you. It’s the only thing I’m sure of.”
His mouth brushes my throat, a trembling exhale skating over my skin.
He hugs me tight.
Careful. Adoring.
No frantic hands, no desperate grabbing. Just him, holding me like I’m something breakable.
I braid my fingers through his hair and tilt my head back, inviting him closer. A soft sound escapes when his lips find mine, a slow, aching pull that makes my knees buckle.
He lifts me up and carries me to the bed, crawling over me, his body a shield.
