Victoria looked up.
“I don’t understand how you always think the worst of me, or that I have no feelings for you.What have I done to make you feel insecure?”
“You’ve never told me how you felt.The only emotions I’ve gotten from you are anger or desire.”
A look of disbelief crossed his face.“How can you not know that I love you?”he yelled.
Victoria sat stunned.She thought he cared about her, but love?No.
He sat down next to her again and growled in frustration when she turned away.
“Tell me,” he demanded.
“How am I supposed to know that?”she cried out.“You’ve never said anything about how you feel.”
Cole straightened as he thought back over the last months.She was right.He couldn’t name one instance in which he gave her the words.
“And then there’s the fact that besides the few times you took me to town, we rushed right home and into bed.”
He caught her expression.“What else?”
“You’ve never taken me to your house.Not ever.”
Cole reared back with a look of pure shock as she’d slapped him.
“God, baby, I never realized ...Jesus, I’m a dumbass.I can’t think of a way to make you understand.”
He turned her to face him, then cupped her face in his hands.“I need you to believe I love you.”He paused when she shook her head.“Tory, how do I make you see how much you mean to me?I understand what you’re saying, and I’m surprised at how truly stupid I’ve been.I love you, baby, more than anything else in the world.”
Victoria’s eyes saw the astonishing truth, and her body relaxed, and the ball of misery inside her started to go away.He loved her.She could see he meant every word, but she was afraid to end up feeling like she had earlier.It scared her how much she loved him, and to lose him would indeed break something inside her that could never be fixed.
“I love you, too,” she whispered as tears filled her eyes.
“What else?I want to get everything out in the open tonight.”
“Can you tell me why you’ve never taken me home or on a normal date?”
He swiped away her tears as they continued to fall.
“I saw how tired you were when I got here every day, and I can honestly say I selfishly want your remaining energy to go toward making love with me.”He waited for that to sink in before he continued.“I love everything about you, and my desire for you is off the charts.I’ve never felt this level of sexual need.Hell, I never thought it existed.All I could think of when we were on our dates was getting you to myself.I hated sharing you with others.”
“I don’t understand?”
“For the short time we were out, how many people stopped by the table to talk or meet you?”
Victoria shrugged.“Several, I guess.”
“More than that, and I wanted to snatch you up every time and tell them you were mine and to stay away.I know it makes me sound like a spoiled child.I stopped fighting my overwhelming possessive feelings for you early because I knew they wouldn’t go away, and they have, in fact, grown stronger.”
Cole relaxed a bit more when she smiled and then set her hands on his chest.His hands dropped to curve around her and maneuvered her a bit closer.
“As far as taking you to my house, I thought about it a lot, but I was afraid if I got you in my house, it would hurt too much to see you leave.I desperately want you in my home, but then you can never leave.”
Victoria sputtered out a laugh.“I don’t live that far from you.”
“A foot is too far for me.”He pressed a kiss to her forehead and then leaned back enough to see her face.“I have to ask, are you going to be able to handle my possessiveness?I know it’s over the top, but I can’t see it settling down anytime soon.”
A shiver of awareness skated down her spine.“If I know you love me, I can deal with a lot, but don’t expect me to put up with your arrogance.That really irritates me.”
