If she did, this...if she said the words out loud, it was all over. The years of holding back. Of never letting anyone in.
Riley licked her suddenly dry lips. If she admitted to what she knew to be true—what had been true from the moment they’d first met—she’d be opening herself up to the possibility of pain and disappointment.
She could also experience a world filled with love, happiness, and if he wanted...forever.
You’re already there, Riley. You know it. He knows it. He just needs to hear you say the words.
The voice in her head was right. Eric needed this. Hedeservedthis.
And it was past time she gave it to him.
Letting go of that last tendril of fear, Riley leaned up onto her tiptoes and brushed her lips against his.
“I’m yours, Eric,” she whispered the freeing words. “Every part of me is yours.”
Including my heart.
****
Gregory Hayes rewoundthe news footage on his phone and watched it a second time. And a third. And a fourth.
The more times he watched, the angrier he got.
The lies spilling out of Detective Riley York’s pretty little mouth weren’t the cause of his anger. Not directly, anyway.
The sexy detective’s untruths were all part of the game. A game he’d started three years ago. One she’d finally decided to play.
His bubbling rage stemmed from the fact that Riley—hisRiley—had stooped to the FBI’s demeaning and unimpressive level.
“I thought you were smarter than this,” he spoke to her recorded image. His thumb brushed across her beautifully paused face. “You’re supposed to be smarter than them.”
It was why he’d chosen her. That and her uncanny appearance.
Her height and build. The color of her hair...he couldn’t believe it when he’d seen her working that first case back in New York.
Then hekeptseeing her.
In the newspapers...on the news...in his E.R.
Gregory still couldn’t believe it when she’d been hand-delivered to him that day. Thankfully, the wound to her right shoulder hadn’t been life-threatening.
It would’ve been a devastating blow to have lost someone so special before they’d even had a chance to meet.
Which is why, like any good doctor would, Gregory had done everything he could to take care of his patient. He’d repaired the damage that the criminal’s bullet had caused and treated her with expert care.
A slow smile formed on his lip as he thought about that day three years ago. The day after her surgery.
The day he’d spent timealonewith her.
He’d gone to her hospital room to see her. They’d discussed the procedure and the steps Riley needed to take in order to properly heal.
Gregory had been very specific on those, because he wanted her to become strong again. He knew their paths would cross again, someday, and wanted the worthy opponent he knew she could be.
While he was still in the room, someone from her work came by to see her. Another detective offering their condolences for her fallen partner.
Riley had thanked him, but then asked about a different case.Hiscase.
And Gregory had walked away with a smile.
