Page 80 of Shielded Hearts

“You did that.”

“I wasn’t trained to injure. I was trained to kill.”

Gray set the box on the floor between her and Willow’s seats. Colt ripped open the lid and started tearing open gauze pads.

She watched him dab at the minor cuts. They stung, but it could have been so much worse. It could have been the knife.

“Christ, Aspen. I’m so damn sorry. For the glass, for the cuts—”

“Stop.” She rested a hand on his chest, feeling the solid thump of his heart. “You saved me, Colt. I could have been stabbed. I was seconds away from it.”

“I should have been here.” His hand hovered over one of the longer scrapes on her forearm, lightly shaking.

“You were here. You saved me and Willow.”

Willow let out a scraping laugh. “You scared the hell out of us when you shot through the window, but you saved us, Colt.”

He dropped his head. “You don’t know how scared I was. Seeing him raise that knife… I thought I’d lose you.” He looked up at Aspen, his jaw clenched as he struggled with the emotions he rarely let himself feel. “I can’t lose you, Aspen. Not ever.”

Her heart clenched. Tears, which had seemed so far away this entire day as she operated in survival mode, spilled down her cheeks, hot and soothing. She curled her fingers into his shirt front.

“You won’t lose me, Colt. I’m here.”

“You’re stuck with her now. She’s in all those wedding photos.” Willow’s matter-of-fact statement brought a laugh bubbling up Aspen’s throat.

Colt’s eyes burned as he studied her. “Thank god you’re all right.”

She leaned forward, and he carefully wrapped his arm around her back, drawing her against his chest. The scent of gunpowder mingled with man didn’t even frighten her.

“I’m so sorry for giving you these cuts, Aspen,” he muttered into her hair.

“You protected me. You did what you had to do.”

“But you’re bleeding.”

“Hello? I’m bleeding too. Guess I’ll just go rub some dirt in it like the old days.” Willow’s comment brought a snort of laughter from Carson, who was cleaning her cuts, and from Gray, crouched in front of the first-aid box, passing him supplies.

Colt’s chest shook on a rumble of a laugh. Then he withdrew from Aspen to study her face.

“Colt.” His name sounded thick on her tongue. It was now or never. She had nothing and everything to lose.

“Yes, princess?” he whispered.

“I have a confession to make. I’m in love with you too.”

The silence in the cabin seemed to swell as seconds ticked on.

“Jesus, princess. I love you too. So damn much.” He drew her into his arms again, his hold tender as he minded her wounds.

When she melted into him, careless of the sting of the minor cuts, her tears started to flow with the strong love pouring out of her.

He swooped in and brushed his lips across hers in the sweetest, most meaningful kiss a woman could ever want—and she never thought she’d experience.

When he lifted his head, she plunged into the gray depths of his eyes. A small laugh of joy burst past her lips.

“What do we do now?” she asked.

“Anything we want.” He started to dab at the blood on her arm again.

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