Page 39 of A Secret Crush Valentine's

A deafening roar arose from the pit, fading by the second. And then it was over.

Damon shifted back, panting and clutching his chest. He scrambled away from the pit, half-expecting a dark monstrosity to emerge from it and attack him again. But nothing happened. He continued to stare at the pit, unsure whether to burst into laughter or tears. The impossible had happened. The pit had claimed the lives of anyone who dared to defy Grim Jim. But before this, it had never occurred to Damon that it would do the same to the murderer. The idea had crept into his mind at the last minute, a desperate attempt at best. And it had worked.

Then again, Grim Jim was immortal. This pit wouldn’t destroy him, but Damon knew that Grim Jim would continue to plummet through the darkness from which no shifter—alive or dead—nodragon—had ever escaped, and no one ever would, not even Grim Jim.

As far as anyone knew, Jeremiah Ebon, the Ice Melter, was gone for good.

Relief flooded through him like a rush of adrenaline. He got to his feet finally and looked around. To his surprise, the cave was almost empty. The Collectors were nowhere to be seen. Damon surmised they must have taken off during the battle with Grim Jim. Standing alone by the cave wall, staring back at him, was a lone figure.

“Julia.” He rushed over to meet her, throwing his arms around her body in a tight hug.

She hugged him back, filling him with a rush of warmth.

“I thought he was going to kill you,” she muttered, her voice choked with emotion. When she looked up at him, he saw that her face was streaked with tears.

“Julia…” His voice caught in his throat for a moment. “I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. I never should have kept this a secret from you. I—”

She shook her head. “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not.”

She shrugged. “Well, you’re right. It was pretty messed up, all of it. But I’m sure what you did as a Collector was because you didn’t have a choice, not with that monster as your boss. Honestly, I don’t even blame the other guys, either.”

“Still…”

“There’s no need to apologize anymore, Damon. I think I’ve found out everything I needed to know, everything I wasn’t sure about.”

He frowned. “Such as…?”

“I know now that you care about me,” she said, and she smiled, making his heart flutter. “I know you wouldn’t hurt me. I… I trust you, Damon, and… and…”

The wordtrustset off a three-alarm fire in his gut, but he simply smiled. “And?”

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him gently on the lips.

“And I love you.”

His breathing stopped. “I love you, too, Julia.”

They stood gazing at each other for the next few seconds. Then Julia said, “Let’s get out of here. This place gives me the creeps. I’d like to put as much distance between myself and this cave as possible. And then we can…talk. Really talk.”

Epilogue

Valentine’s Day

In the heart of winter, our love burned so bright.

We danced like snowflakes, pure and white,

Your hand in mine, our hearts intertwined,

Our love is a story of heart and mind.

It’s Valentine’s Day, this moment’s divine,

Your soul and mine will forever align.

“You sing so beautifully.”

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