Page 16 of Offside Angel

“Considering what we talked about last night, you shouldn’t be so surprised to see me.”

She winces. “I’m sorry.”

“See, I want to believe that, but it’s hard because I believed you last night.” I fight to keep my voice even. I don’t want to yell and scare her, but frustration is simmering under my skin. “I believed you when you said you wanted to come home with me.”

“I do.” Her voice breaks. “I do want that, Zane. More than anything.”

“Good. Then let’s go.”

I grab her arm and tug her towards the door, but she pulls back. “No. Wait.”

“We played that game last night. I took things slow and then you waited until I fell asleep and crawled out the bathroom window like I was a terrible blind date you needed to escape from. I’m not letting you get away again.”

She yanks hard, her thin wrist slipping out of my hold. I swear she’s lost weight since I saw her last.

“What are you going to do, lock me up?” she spits. “Chain me to my bed? Might be a little traumatizing for Aiden to see me in handcuffs.”

“It’ll be even more traumatizing when you get yourself killed!” I roar, backing her into the wall.

I flatten my hand on the wall, flexing my fingers as I work out the urges I’m fighting to throw her over my shoulder and carry her away kicking and screaming.

Mira blows out a deep breath. “I can take care of myself.”

My molars clench. I’ve heard that too many times. “How long do you think you can keep this up? Look at how easy it was for me to find you, Mira.”

“My brother doesn’t have the kind of resources you have.” She lets out a bitter laugh. “No one has the kind of resources you have.”

“Say that again,” I demand. “Listen to yourself this time.”

She frowns. “What?”

“No one has the kind of resources I have. You may be able to outrun your brother, but you can’t outrun me. I won’t let you.”

Her eyes squeeze shut and she shakes her head. “You can’t, Zane.”

“I can.” I grab her chin and force her face up to mine. I hold her there until her eyes open and she’s looking at me. “I can and I will. I have more money than God already. Fuck hockey; I’ll retire and spend my time dragging you home over and over again. As many times as it takes.”

“I’m sorry I lied,” she says softly. “I should have told you the truth last night. I just thought it would be easier if we got to… if we could say goodbye. I thought maybe you could let me go if we got one more night together.”

I bark out a laugh. “Do you think one night with you is all I want? If that was true, I would’ve been done with you months ago.”

“No. No, but—” She pinches her lower lip between her teeth. “You asked me to leave, Zane. At one point, you agreed with me. You thought it would be safest if I left.”

“I was wrong!”

“You weren’t!” she fires back. “You were thinking clearly and now, after last night, we’re not. What about Aiden? Think about Aiden.”

I am thinking about Aiden. I’m thinking about me and Aiden and Mira—the life we’ll have together. For the first time in my fucking life, I’m thinking about weddings and happily-ever-afters.

“I love you.” I drag my thumb down her jawline, over the thrumming of her pulse. Right now, it matches mine. “I love you, Mira.”

She stiffens. “Don’t.”

I ignore her, massaging warmth into her cool skin. “I’ve never said that to a woman before.”

She wraps her hands around my wrists, trying and failing to pull me away. “Don’t waste it on me, then.”

“You’re not a waste, Mira. The time we’ve spent together, the time we’re going to spend together… None of it has been a waste.” I kiss her forehead and the end of her nose. I press my lips to hers, exhaling against her mouth when she won’t kiss me back. “Our family is the only thing that matters. I fucked up when I told you to leave. I’m not going to make that mistake again. You belong with me and Aiden. You’re going to live in my house and sleep in my bed. One day, you’ll take my name.”

---