“Try me, dickhead.” He jabbed his finger into the call end button and stuffed his phone back in his pocket.
I let out a shaky breath, my shoulders rounding. Killian moved between my legs and framed my face with his strong hands. “I’ll never let anything happen to you, you know that, right?”
My head dipped slowly. “Then what are we going to do? We can’t hide out here forever.”
His dark brow lifted into a mischievous arc. “You sure about that, Red? I’d be totally okay with spending the rest of my days trapped on this boat with you, fucking that sweet little pussy day and night.”
Another chill roared up my spine, this one much more pleasant than the last. I pressed my forehead to his and brushed a chaste kiss to his lips. “I wish it were that easy.”
We remained that way for a long minute before Killian finally pushed off the counter and started pacing. “Okay, we need a plan. There has to be some way to get around Stan’s sphere of influence.”
“Your little secret society, you mean?”
He nodded.
“Are they really that powerful?”
“Yes, you have no idea of their reach, no notion of the lengths they’ll go to protect their own.”
“I mean, I have a little idea. I did almost get killed for those secrets in the Dominican Republic, remember?”
His jaw ticked, teeth grinding. “I’ll never forget.” He dragged his hand through his hair and heaved out a breath. “Fuck. There’s only one way to end this.”
My heart kicked against my ribs, raw fear coursing through my veins because I knew Killian with every shred of my being, and I knew exactly what he’d say next.
“I have to kill Stanford Davenport.”
His words hit like a gunshot.
The world tilted and all the air whooshed from my lungs. “No,” I hissed, the word tearing out of me. “I won’t risk losing you, Kill.”
It was for that very reason I’d never toldPapáwhat happened. He would’ve murdered the bastard, no questions.
His hands came up, framing my face, forcing me to look at him. His eyes burned, fierce, desperate, and unrelenting. “There’s no other way, Red, unless you want to spend the next year in court battling Stan and the best team of lawyers money can buy. Not only will they dredge up the past, but they’ll also do everything in their power to discredit you, to ruin you. You can kiss your scholarship and med school goodbye, everything you’ve worked so hard for. I refuse to let that happen.”
“And I refuse to lose you. I only just got you back, Killian, I can’t. I’d rather risk it all, give up my dreams of becoming a doctor, if it means I have you.”
His gaze faltered, just for a second. “Don’t be stupid. I’m not worth it, Red, never have been.”
Something inside me snapped.
“Don’t say that!”
I caught his chin, forcing his eyes back to mine. He tried to pull away, but I didn’t let him.
Not this time.
“I love you, Killian.”
The words came out raw. Unfiltered. I didn’t stop them.
“Damn it, I always have–even when Ireallyshouldn’t have–I always will.” My throat tightened, but I pushed through it. “You are my everything, and the idea of a life without you is no longeracceptable. I’ve done it before, and I refuse to do it again. I was lost and broken without you.”
My best friend stared at me, eyes wide, a storm of emotions brewing beneath those deep green orbs. Shit, maybe I shouldn’t have blurted the love part. It was too soon, wasn’t it?
“Fuck, Lexi...” His voice was wrecked. “I love you so damned much it hurts to breathe when you’re not beside me.”
His mouth captured mine, stealing the remaining air from my lungs. It was all I could do to hold on as his lips ravaged my own, tongue claiming every inch of me.
