“I know.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt you. Everything happened so fast.”
“I know,” he said again.
“It’s not an excuse,” I added. “I totally understand if you want Xavier to sever our bond.”
“I don’t.”
I stared at him, heart hammering in fear, but a touch of hope rose in my gut. “You don’t?”
“Jude…” he began but stopped, as if struggling to decide what to say. “How about we get some sleep? Talk in the morning when we’re both rested and clearheaded?”
I blinked and nodded. “I can sleep on the couch. You can have my bed,” I said quickly.
“No,” Angel sighed. He caught my arm, gently stopping my retreat. “I just want to hold you. Please.”
Thepleaseundid me. Tears stung my eyes, blurring my vision, but I let him pull me into his arms. What had I done in some other life to deserve this man? Did he get how unworthy I was?
“Breathe,” he whispered, breath warm on my cheek. Angel guided me into my bedroom and closed the door, leaving the rest of the apartment, lights and all, behind. His touch sent sparks of wild emotion through me—part guilt, part desperate relief—and part insatiable need.
He shrugged off his jacket, the lamplight catching the new scar again. Was there a way to heal it? Would the absence absolve me? No. Fuck, I hated all this.
“Angel, I?—”
“You didn’t do this on purpose,” Angel said, lifting his hand to trace the scar.
“But I hurt you.”
“I saw the car,” Angel said. “I made the choice to put myself between you and it. I expected pain. Hoped I’d be strong enough to stop it from hurting you.”
I blinked at him, letting the words sink in.
“A split-second choice on both our parts,” he added. “I heard the damn thing moving before it ever came flying through the door. I should have picked you up and thrown you up the stairs. But we all make mistakes in those half-seconds between chaos.”
I stared at him, the memory replaying in my head. How fast it had happened, and the pure instinct to enact the shield. “I barely thought. I just reacted.”
“Which probably saved our lives.” He held up his injured hand. “I think this was because you had focused the shield there. If we strengthen our connection, broaden it, we can prevent this from happening in the future.”
“Or I can accidentally light you up like a Roman candle. No, thanks.”
“Jude,” Angel said with a heavy sigh. He cupped my face and stroked my cheek with his thumb, the caress gentle and grounding. “You are struggling to trust yourself.” He put his thumb over my lips as I opened my mouth to protest. “Trustme. Okay? Right now, I need to feel you. Hold you.” He closed his eyes for a long minute. “I’m exhausted. You are too. Can we save the world tomorrow?”
“Sounds like a busy Saturday, but sure,” I tried to joke.
He chuckled. The sound made me instantly hard.Fuck, why was he so hot?
Angel stripped off his shirt, leaving all that beautiful tattooed skin on display. When his hands went to his pants, shucking them and leaving him in nothing but a pair of boxer briefs, my common sense vanished and my mouth went dry.
He gave me a sexy grin. “I love the way you look at me.”
“Huh?”
“Exactly,” he said, then tugged my T-shirt off. “No sexy times tonight. But I need your skin against mine.”
“Okay,” I agreed stupidly. I let him guide me under the covers, his body curling around mine like we’d done this a thousand times instead of it feeling like the first time all over again. His chest pressed against my back, his scarred hand splaying over my sternum where my heartbeat thundered.
“Breathe,” he murmured into my hair. “I’ve got you.”
