“I can’t breathe when you’re not near me. I kept my distance because there were things I needed to put in order. I had to makesure you’d be protected if everything fell apart. And I wanted to give you time to come to terms with everything.”
“But it wasn’t easy. Every day demanded a level of restraint I didn’t know I possessed. Every instinct in me urged me to come for you, take you away from that academy, marry you, and keep you by my side where you belong.”
“I have a diamond ring burning a hole in my pocket, waiting for the day I can put it on your finger. Staying away from you bloody hurt, but I did it anyway. I didn’t want to force you into another marriage. And I knew that if I stayed, I would.”
“But enough is enough. I fucking breathe for you. I don’t know how to exist in a world that doesn’t have you in it. When I found out about the marriage, I was fucking wrecked, Piper, and that doesn’t happen to me. I don’t feel. But with you, I feel every damn thing.”
“And yes, I was furious. Especially when I found out it was my father. In my head, he was the good man. Yet even then, before I knew the full truth, part of me wanted him gone simply because he stood between us.”
“Do you understand how fucked up that is?”
“I’m a cold bastard, Piper. I was ready to kill my own father when I still believed he was innocent. That’s toxic, it’s twisted. It’s completely fucking wrong.”
“I fucking love you. I breathe for you. I live for you. Seeing you hurt destroyed me. Every bruise on your skin felt etched into mine ten times over. I was never a man for feelings. But with you, I was all in from the very damn beginning.”
He closes the distance between us. We both breathe hard as he presses his forehead to mine.
“I love you.”
He kisses me softly.
“You’re coming back with me. Home. And you will marry me, because that’s what you want, too.”
“I hate you,” I whisper as tears fall down my cheeks.
“Good.”
He presses a kiss to my lips. “I love you.”
“Good.”
His tongue meets mine, and I pour everything I have into him. When he finally pulls away, his eyes hold mine, and I smile.
“I’ll marry you,” I say.
The dimple I love so much appears.
“Yes, yes you fucking will.”
Chapter 55
Piper
“Happy birthday, love.”
I rub the sleep from my eyes and sit up. The duvet falls to my waist, revealing my silk camisole.
Hunter’s eyes immediately drop to my chest. The thin fabric does little to conceal the outline of my breasts, and my nipples tighten beneath his scrutiny.
He holds a small cake topped with a single candle. The icing is pink, decorated with flowers and butterflies.
Hunter looks infuriatingly good, already dressed for work in a dark suit.
“Make a wish,” he says.
I close my eyes and blow out the candle.
He lifts the cake towards me, and I take a bite.
