Page 92 of Wicked Suspicion

Nyx stood, still polite, but Case felt as if she was listening to him.

“I told you about Hannah, about how she lied by omission and didn’t tell me she was married. But there was a long string of liars in between my mom and her.”

Nyx didn’t respond to that. He glanced down at the floor for a moment and studied the subtle pattern in the carpeting as he tried to figure out what to say next.

“I stopped trusting people, especially women. Then I met you and you knocked me on my ass. I didn’t trust you right away either, but as time went on, I stopped questioning the things you said. You were straightforward. You were different. You were the one woman who wouldn’t lie to me in any way. Then I found out you knew who I was almost from the start.”

She didn’t say anything, and fear hit him like a punch to the gut. Had he fucked up so badly there was no coming back from it?

Voice thick, he said, “If I’d kept my mouth shut until I could think things through, I would have realized there was almost no opportunity for you to tell me. The few times we were able to talk openly we discussed other things. But I didn’t stop to think. I reacted, and I reacted badly. I am sorry. Truly sorry. I wish—” His voice broke, and he had to clear his throat. “I wish I could go back in time and undo the way I wrecked things.”

“Why?” One word, no inflection.

Case had one last piece of ammo. “Because I love you, Nyx. I love you and I want a lifetime with you.”

Nyx’s mask slipped momentarily, giving him a view of how badly his distrust hurt her. Then, in the blink of an eye, she had it back in place.

Closing the distance between them, Case cupped her cheek in his palm. She didn’t pull away. She didn’t slug him. He took that as a good sign. “I love you, Fireball, and I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you. I’m sorry I hurt you. I’m sorry I still have issues that I haven’t managed to work through. If you need me to take my ass to therapy, I’ll be on it as soon as I’m back in the States.”

“You don’t want to go to therapy.” It wasn’t a question.

“Hell, no.” Case managed a small smile, but it felt forced. “If I wanted to deal with my shit, I would have done it before now.” He sobered. “But my shit hurt you, and I don’t ever want to do that again.”

With a sigh, Nyx leaned her cheek into his palm. “You hit a trigger for me, too. You see, my sisters would accuse me of doing something, and my mom would confront me about it. She wouldn’t believe I was innocent even though I was telling the truth. I was grounded more than once for things Dylan did or things one of my sisters did to the other sister. So when you just immediately accused me of lying and wouldn’t listen—” She shrugged. “It hurt.”

The mask was gone now. Case wrapped his arms around Nyx, cuddling her to his chest. “I’m sorry. It won’t happen again, I promise.”

“How can you make that promise?” Her arms went around his waist as she asked the question.

“Because now that I realize it’s a hot issue for me, I’ll know to stop and think before I react. I have the discipline to do it, too.”

“I know you do. You’re Special Forces.”

Case held Nyx for a while, basking in the feel of her arms around him, her head on his chest. “You probably don’t know how you feel about me yet, but I’d like a chance to…” he tried to come up with the right word. “A chance to woo you.”

Some of the relaxation left her body, and Nyx leaned back to meet his gaze. “I love you, too, Case. Why else would I make love with you?”

Relief had him grinning. “Yeah, why else? I should have guessed that.”

“You should have.” Her mock scolding was ruined by her smile. “I do love you, Case. So much it’s scary.”

“I get that.” Did he ever. Finally, he could take a deep breath. “On my way to the hotel, I passed a jewelry store, and they had a window display that made me stop and go inside.” Case put Nyx away from him and reached into the pocket of his jeans. “I know it’s too soon to propose, but I thought I could make a promise instead.” He handed her a small jewelry box. “Open it.”

Nyx lifted the lid. “Oh!”

“This bind rune is for love. I’d like it if you’d wear it.”

She nodded. “Put it on for me.”

Case freed the silver chain, and after shoving the box back in his pocket, placed it around her neck. “I know we’re on opposite sides of the country—when I’m even in the US—but we’ll make it work.”

“We’ll make it work,” she agreed.

“I love you, Nyx, and I will forever. I promise.”

Epilogue

It was dark when Oz returned to the safe house. He heard voices in the makeshift office the team had on the first floor, and changed course, heading for the back patio. Sinking into the same chair he’d sat in earlier in the day, he stretched out his legs and put his hand over the right front pocket of his pants. When he felt the small bump, he rubbed his thumb over it.

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