Page 39 of Queen of Blades

“I—”

He covered her lips with his thumb to silence her. “I’d do it again.” Taking a breath, he contemplated his next words before they fell from his lips. “I’ll massacre entire syndicates for you. Lay them to waste if they so much as look at you the wrong way.”

She tilted her head into his hand, nuzzling it slightly.

He continued. “Anything to keep you safe. I’ll protect you from anyone.”

“Paul,” she whispered as she closed her eyes.

Scooting to the end of the chair, his face was so close to hers, he could feel her breath dancing over his chin. Swallowing hard, it was time to admit something he never thought was possible.

“Harper, I don’t know when it happened or how. This shit started twelve years ago, and it continues today. From the first day I saw you, our first unplanned kiss, to right now, I’ve known it on some level but never admitted it to anyone, let alone myself. It’s time I said it so we both know what’s going on here. You’re mine—always have been, always will be. And I’m yours. We both know it. No one touches what is mine. I will protect you with everything I have—until I take my last breath.”

His words hung heavily between them. There was way more to this than just two people coming to terms with their feelings for each other. It’d been complicated before, when they were just from two different syndicates. Now she was a lawyer and prosecuted people like him. They couldn’t be worse for each other. The contracts on their heads only made their situation that much more inconceivable.

There was no clear path forward.

“Wh-what am I supposed to do with that?” she asked as she leaned back and away from him.

He considered the question as she shook her head, staring at the table.

“It was bad enough when you turned my world upside down back in the day,” she said as she stood.

Peering up at her, he cocked his head, confused at the anger in her tone. He’d just confessed his long-lasting devotion to her, his commitment to her safety and protection, and she was mad? It made little sense. He didn’t know what he’d expected, but it wasn’t this.

Covering her face, she let out a loud, rough sigh before she raked her fingers through her hair. “You can’t just say shit like that.”

Slowly, he rose to his feet as she paced. “Why not?”

“You showed up intending to murder me.”

“I’d never be able to do it.”

“That doesn’t change the intent.”

“Are you dead?”

She squeezed her eyes shut and let out another cry of rage before glaring at him. “Paul, what the fuck is going on?”

He furrowed his brow. She couldn’t mean that literally. She was very aware of everything. He did his best to figure out how to answer her.

“I left Oklahoma because I didn’t want to be a part of this.” She gestured around in a circle. “All this illegal stuff.”

He nodded. This wasn’t new information, but he let her continue. It’d be the only way for both of them to sort all this out.

“I’m a prosecutor,” she said matter-of-factly. “I put people like you behind bars.”

He closed the distance between them until they were standing nose to nose.

Her voice shook. “If we survive this—”

“You will,” he asserted as he cupped her jaw again.

Tears welled in her eyes. Her bottom lip quivered. His chest tightened at the confusion behind her irises.

“We,” she said again. “If we make it out of this fucked-up situation. Then what? It doesn’t matter if we care about each other—”

He couldn’t help it. His grin grew. “So it’s mutual?”

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