Page 72 of I Should Hate You-but I Don't

Sleep was the last thing he wanted last night, but as soon as he was done having sex, exhaustion won out. He'd wrapped his body around River's warm back and crashed.

"We need to talk." He rubbed her back. "I should've explained things before we fucked, sweetheart."

Her arms slithered off his neck, and her chin hit her chest. "I know we should, but I don't want anything to change between us."

He exhaled loudly. "I need to explain what happened and why I tried like hell to keep my distance from you."

She stilled. The news about her dad was fresh and raw. He wasn't trying to make it harder on her by talking about it more, but to understand, she needed to know everything.

"Kingsley was going to talk to Kenna last night. I don't know if he got a chance to, but both of you need to know thatI informed my dad that the favor I was asked to do is now finished." He pushed her hair back to see her face. "That favor my dad owed Tom Pruitt is what kept me—what I fought against, sweetheart. It was never you. Loving you only put a target on my back, ultimately putting you in danger."

"You think my dad would hurt you because we love each other?" She raised her gaze.

"He's sitting on death row, sweetheart. A man doesn't get there without making enemies. I don't know who he has working for him on the outside or what he holds over my dad on the inside." He cupped her face. "That means we're going to be careful. Don't take off without an escort or letting me know where you'll be. The same goes for Kenna."

"So, we're still a job to you," she said.

"No, you're my old lady." He kissed the tip of her nose. "There's a difference."

"How so?"

He rolled back, taking her with him and pinned her to the bed. "No one can stop me from putting my hands on you."

"Oh, yeah?" She grinned.

He pressed his pelvis against her. "No one can stop me from fucking you."

Her eyelids fluttered. "What else?"

"No more lies." He stilled. "I love you, sweetheart."

"I love you, too." She raised her head and kissed his lips. "I also love hearing you say that to me."

"You always knew," he murmured against her lips. "Ever since you fell and bloodied your knees, you had me. Your world fell apart, and I gained everything. Since then, all I've wanted to do was make you happy. I know I can't make it up to you for keeping your dad a secret. Like I told you before, I was doing a favor, and in my world—my word is everything."

"I don't understand," she whispered.

"All I could think about was putting you through the pain of losing him all over again." He pulled back. "You and Kenna will have to face that, and you've already dealt with so much."

"I know. I'll never know why he wanted us to believe he was dead," she whispered. "It doesn't make any sense."

After talking with River, he discovered that no one named Tom Pruitt was sitting on death row in Idaho. While his dad had used that exact name to communicate with him, he believed River and Kenna were right when they guessed their dad used a fake name throughout life, and he was incarcerated under his legal name.

His dad probably used the name he was given, so River and Kenna knew it was their dad. But that defeated the reason why they were never to know where he was located.

"We'll figure it out. I'll see if I can get names and pictures of those on death row." He kissed her. "Right now, though. We need to get the fire crews out of here, open the campground, and get my men back to work."

She hugged him, taking his weight. "Where dowego from here?"

"I move back into the house and into your bed." He looked her in the eyes. "Then, I spend every fucking minute for the rest of my life trying to make up for the pain I caused you."

Her gaze softened. "We'll heal, and we'll love, and we'll do it together."

The door slammed shut downstairs, rocking the house. He groaned, rolling off her.

"Whoever that is better have a damn good reason for walking into my house." He pushed himself off River and grabbed his boots, sliding his feet inside and tying them hastily.

River moved over to the dresser, picking out her clothes for the day. He patted her ass on the way out of the bedroom. At the top of the stairs, he stilled. Voices were raised coming from thekitchen. From the sound of it, Kingsley and Kenna were already at each other's throats.

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