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I made myself find the courage to stand before him naked, giving him a piece of me no other had before.

I was so ready to shed this skin I'd been wearing my whole life; this cloak of lies that hid the real me.

"Because you deserve my truth," I strangled out, heart raging like a storm. "You deserve to hear all about the countless ways I love you."

Hunter reached a hand under my chin, tipping it upwards so he had a front row view into the deepest parts of my soul. "You're so fucking beautiful," he whispered, eyes burning into mine. "It's painful."

"Don’t let me go, okay?" I begged, clinging onto his shoulders for dear life. "Please don’t let this be for nothing." Swallowing deeply, I added, "I'm leaving my marriage for you. I'm leaving everything behind for you –"

His lips landed hard on mine then, his kiss a silent promise that I didn’t need to fear what was to come, because he was here, right here with me, standing beside me, ready to take the world and its mother down to keep us safe.

Broken and torn, I clung to his broad shoulders as we fell onto his bed, immersing myself in every vivid sensation and feeling that came with being in the arms of a man like him.

Hunter's hands roamed over my skin with such undiluted love and passion that I felt stripped down to the core. Every inch of my body shook; desire and emotion reducing me to a shuddering mess.

"I don’t want to hurtyou," he groaned when his big body landed heavily down on mine, pressing me deeper into the mattress. "Never you."

"The only way you can hurt me is if you leave me," I whispered, wrapping my legs around his hips. Cradling his face between my hands, I pressed a kiss to his swollen lips and said, "Nowshowme how much you love me."

****

Chapter Twelve

Lucky

For the longest time, I sat on the edge of my bed and just watched her.

The moonlight pouring through my bedroom window allowed me to study the way her long dark lashes fanned her cheekbones as she slept, and her plump, full lips slightly parted as she exhaled every whimpered breath.

Her left eyelid blackened with every hour that passed.

And the scar on her face?

I'd spent half my life behind bars and I'd never seen anything so goddamn brutal.

Fucking butcher had scalped her to the goddamn bone.

Her face wasn’t the only part of her damaged either.

Her fragile wrists were bruised from the force he'd used on her.

There was a boot-sized bruise on her stomach, ugly and discolored.

As for her legs?

That fucking animal's fingerprints were carved into the flesh of her inner thighs.

From where he'd tried to pry them open.

My cell vibrated on my nightstand, just as I had anticipated.

Part of staying alive was predicting the other person's move, and up until tonight, I had been pretty fucking good at predicting trouble.

Not wanting to wake Hope, I slid out of bed, grabbed my phone, and padded into kitchen.

I stared at the wordsBlocked Calleron the screen before swiping my finger across it and putting it to my ear.

"Lucky Casarazzi," a smooth voice filled my ears. "My granddaughter's personal bodyguard."

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