Page 70 of Barrett

He said….

Love?

That time I did lift my head. “The fuck did you just say?”

“Stop acting carelessly?”

“No, you said the one you love. You love me and that’s how you tell me? Christ, Reghan.” I moved to stand but strong hands gripped my ass and pulled me closer.

“Barrett North, if you don’t know by now that I’m head over heels for you, then maybe you are hopeless. I’ve been fighting it, thinking it was too soon. Seeing your brother in my home, listening to stories, and spending days away from you solidified how I feel. I’m sorry for saying it the way I did, but to clarify, I love you.”

There were the tears again. “Goddammit.” I furiously swiped them away. “This is some serious bullshit. I should be riding your dick while you say that, not crying.”

“You haven’t slept, have you?”

“Define sleep.” Did a nap count? What about dozing off in the chair outside until a car drove by, startling me awake?

Reghan held on to me while he stood and carried me to the bedroom, blanket and all. He sat on the edge of the bed and shifted back until he lay down with me on top of him. “Sleep. I’ve got you.”

Pressing my hands to his chest, I sat up. The room was bathed in darkness, the only light seeping down the hall from the living room. “I didn’t get to talk after you.”

He chuckled. “I’m pretty sure you did.”

“Not about that.” I gently smacked his chest. Damn thing was rock-hard. “The guilt I feel won’t go away because you said what you did, but the words were heard. It’s not a switch I can flip though. As for living with you, do you know how it’s been for me here? I hate being alone, hate being without my brother. I didn’t just lose him this week. I lost both of you. Yeah, you had work to do, so don’t apologize for not being here. But I missed you both so much and for very different reasons. When did I go from being fine on my own to wanting to be surrounded by the people I care about?”

“Life changes and so do we.”

“You’re right. I love you too, by the way. That revelation came to me two nights ago when I nearly shot a rat for making some weird fucking noise. I only realized what it was when it ran away.”

“You could have hit someone.”

“No shit. Anyway, I knew I was losing it, but I couldn’t stop. I want revenge for Mars and the other men. I want to find them. They’re alive, I just know they are, and I need to get to them, but I have no idea where to look.”

“He’ll slip up and we’ll find him and them.”

I nodded. Believing him was difficult. If I didn’t, I’d lose all hope of doing so. “When I finally settled back into the chair, all I wanted was you. Your arms around me and your voice in my ear. I wanted your touch and the way you know how to give me what I need without me having to say a word. I’ve never been with anyone like you. I was upset at first when you and Marshall left, but you were putting him first. You have no idea what that did to me. I couldn’t be upset anymore. You were protecting my brother.” Leaning down, I braced my arms on either side of his head. “I love you,” I whispered. “Please don’t hurt me.”

“Never.”

“I can’t live with you. Not yet.”

“I know. Doesn’t mean I don’t want it though.”

“Jordan’s right. It’s going to come out that we’re dating.”

“What are you going to do when it does?” he asked.

“I’m tempted to go in tomorrow and put a framed picture of you on my desk.”

Reghan laughed and, goddamn, it went right to my heart. “I think you do want to live with me if you’re willing to do that.”

I pressed a quick kiss to his lips. “I want so much with you. I’m afraid and excited at the same time. We have to catch this guy first. Right now, I have access to everything from both sides. Or at least what Jordan grants me access to from him.”

“Okay, no putting my picture on your desk yet.”

“Fine, but it would have been fun though.”

“It would have.”

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