“Life hasn’t been easy on you, has it, angel?”
I see the true concern in his eyes and start to melt. Kindness like this is actually foreign to me.
“You get used to it.” I shrug. “But then again, you must have a story too. Why else would a hunk like you be out here all alone for…how many years?”
“Three,” he replies.
My eyes go wide. “Wow. And that doesn’t feel like solitary confinement?”
He shrugs. “Trust me. It’swaybetter than the alternative.”
My manners tell me not to push it, but I can’t help myself. I need to know.
“And that alternative would be…?”
Rourke sighs and looks out the windows at the snow. He’s silent for a moment, but I let him be.
“I’ve never toldanyonethis.” His voice is low, restrained. “And I swore I never would.”
An urge to comfort him fills me, and I take his arm and squeeze.
“You can trust me,” I assure him. “Besides, it’s not like you’re ever going to let me leave, right?”
That draws a small smile out of him, and he turns back to me.
“Avery, I was in the CIA.”
His words take a moment to sink in, but when they do, it all makes sense. His combat skills, his military items, and his suspicion of me when I first arrived.
“I was abad man.I didbad things.Off the book.” His eyes darken. “We were chasing an even worse man, but he had a mole in the agency. I knew if I didn’t get out, I’d be dead.”
I nod slowly. “So that’s why you’re here?”
“That’s why I’m here.”
He opens his mouth but stops. He’s holding something back. Slowly, I caress his thigh with my hand.
“What? What is it, Rourke?”
He brings his eyes to mine and takes a deep breath.
“That man I was after, Avery. That man was the man you were running from. That man was Damon Vale.”
Everything stops—including my brain. All I can do is nod robotically, like I’m in a trance, as I try to process everything I just heard.
“So…that’s why you don’t want me leaving here.”
He nods. “Damon Vale is more dangerous than you know, angel. And he won’t stop looking for you, just out of principle. But if you’reherewith me, you’re safe.”
My heart pounds hard like a fist trying to shatter my ribcage. The terrible reality of the situation comes crashing down on me, and I brace myself against the counter.
“That means…I could have led him to you…” Panic grips me. I stand, shaking my arms as my blood goes cold. “You came up here to be safe, and now I might have—”
Rourke covers my mouth with his hand—so rough and so strong. I gaze up into his eyes. They’re warm and comforting. He shakes his head, running his other hand up my back, soothing me gently.
“Don’t even think that, angel. I’ve been living the last three years of my goddamn life up here alone. I didn’t even know what I was missing. And then you showed up.”
My heart leaps. I realize I’m quivering as he slowly removes his hand from my lips, then kisses me delicately.
