“That’s just the thing,” I snap back at him, hating how dismissive he can be. It’s as though he has a magical gift for getting under my skin. “Where does it leave me if you guys all piss off to the mountains and there’s another attack? You’re leaving me vulnerable. So, which is it? You can’t have it both ways. The whole reason you want me in your place is to keep me safe and keep me close. So, do you want me safe or should I just risk my life by staying behind with no protection? Besides, this is the home my father was murdered in. I have the right to go and see it. I’ll stay in the car until you clear it if you have to, but I’m coming and you can’t stop me.”
The guys look around one another, their shifty eyes seriously getting on my nerves, but the hard set of Carver’s jaw tells me that I’m just as much working his nerves as they are mine.
King sighs, seeing that I have them backed into a corner. “We’ll talk about it later,” he tells me. “Let’s just focus on getting you out of here, and once we’re home, we can work out the details there.”
I nod, knowing that’s the best I’m going to get out of them.
“Good,” King says. “Now, can we talk about how Cruz still has the ‘YAHTZEE’ video?”
Grayson scoffs, his tone dark and deadly, and clearly pissed about the whole situation. “How about we talk about how Cruz screamed that he loved Ellie while she was bleeding out?” he says, throwing him right under the bus.
Cruz’s eyes bug out of his head as his sharp gaze slices back to mine. “I … uhh … fuck,” he stumbles out as I try to think back to my time lying in my own blood on the garage floor. The whole thing is blurry, and over the past two days, I’ve only been able to remember little snippets of it.
“You, umm … you said that you love me?” I murmur, keeping my stare locked on Cruz’s as I recall that only yesterday morning, sitting in this very hospital, King had admitted something very similar while talking with his little sister.
Ember clears her throat and gets to her feet. “I think I hear Corey calling my name,” she says, refusing to meet my eyes before she high-tails it out of the room.
King, Grayson, and Carver follow her out, and before I know it, it’s just Cruz and me with nothing but a world of tension sitting between us. “I didn’t mean for it to come out like that,” he tells me. “I was in a panic and terrified that I was going to lose you. I didn’t want you to go without knowing, but you have to know that’s not how I ever intended on telling you. In fact, I wasn’t planning on telling you for a long fucking time.”
My brows furrow as I watch him. “Why not?”
“Because, baby, you’re not fucking ready to hear those words, as much as you think you are, you’re not. I can see it in your eyes now. You’re freaking out, but you don’t need to. I’m not going to force it in your face and demand some bullshit response out of you.”
I watch him carefully. “Are you sure?” I ask, hating how easily he can read me and see the terror on my face. But the terror isn’t there because he loves me. I fucking love that. The terror comes from that deep, dark part of me that’s never been loved. I don’t know how to love and I sure as fuck don’t know what it means to be loved in return.
Cruz stands up and walks toward me, leaning over me with a hand on either side of my hips, being as careful as he possibly can not to jostle me around. “All you need to know,” he tells me, his voice dropping low as his mesmerizing green eyes bore into mine and hold every bit of my attention, keeping me captivated, “is that every fucking word of it is true. I love you, and I have for a while now. I’m all in where you’re concerned, but I don’t expect anything in return. I’m not hanging around, pining to hear you say it back because I know you’re not there yet. I know you feel something for me, and I know that scares the shit out of you, but when you’re ready, you’ll come to me. You already give me everything I need, and that’s more than enough. I’ve told you before, and I’ll tell you a million times more if you need me to. Just getting a piece of you is more than I could ever ask for.”
My hand curls up around the back of his neck and I pull him in close, holding him right in front of me as his forehead drops to mine. “Have I ever told you how fucking incredible I think you are?” I whisper, refusing to take my eyes away from his. “You completely captured me from the day I first met you, and I don’t ever want to let you go.”
Cruz moves in closer, and just like that, his lips come down on mine and he kisses deeply, making every little emotion that lives deep within me, swirl around and bubble right to the surface. I hold him tight and as his lips gently move against mine, I feel my world sliding right into place.
Even if I didn’t have the other guys, I know that a life with Cruz would still make me the happiest girl who ever lived. What more could a girl want? He’s absolutely perfect with those mesmerizing green eyes and his flawless, cocky smirk. But when it comes to Cruz Danforth, it’s his heart that gets me. It’s so incredibly pure. It’s as though his light evens out my darkness.
Cruz slowly pulls away, and as his eyes come back to mine, a soft, adoring smile pulls at his lips and makes his eyes light up like the Fourth of July. “I can’t wait to get you home and healed,” he tells me, making excitement burn deep within me. “Then I can truly show you what it means to be loved by me.”
“Well, fuck me,” I breathe, knowing that no other woman on this green earth could ever be so lucky.
Cruz winks, making everything flutter deep in my stomach. “That’s the plan,” he tells me, his voice rumbling low through the private room. He climbs onto my bed beside me and pulls me into his warm, inviting arms and as my head rests against his wide chest, I realize that no matter what, I will never let him go.
CHAPTER 5
The warm water rushes over my head and I let out a low groan. There’s nothing better than having a nice warm shower after being locked up in the hospital for a week. Nothing could get better than this. Though, if I’m honest, showering in my own shower back at home would be preferable, but I get it. I’ll be the princess locked in Carver’s tower until the boys deem it safe for me to walk the streets without being shot at.
I guess they have a fair point, but the second I’m free of my binds and the threats are gone, I’m riding up and down the street on my Ducati, in nothing but my birthday suit while waving my ass around and daring all the fuckwits to come for me. I can only imagine what the boys would think about that, but there’s not a damn thing they can do about it.
I rinse the shampoo from my hair and sink back against the cool tiles. This week has been hard. Who knew that getting shot would take so much out of a person? Just getting up to shower is exhausting, but this is only the start. Today is a massive day, and I’m sure that by the end, I’m going to crumble into a ball and sleep for the rest of the year.
A sigh pulls from deep within me as I tilt my head back against the tiles and close my eyes, rejoicing in the rare moment that I have to myself. The boys haven’t been overbearing or anything like that, but they sure as fuck meant it when they said they wanted to keep a close eye on me. I’m not complaining though, for the most part, when we’re all getting along, I absolutely adore their company.