Page 163 of Intense
“I could have killed you, Stephanie. Fuck.” He rips the duvet away and starts pacing the room, pulling at his hair.
“Get away from me, Stephanie. Don’t let me hurt you. Please.”
I don’t move. I’m not scared of him.
He’s desperately clinging on to reality, but something is haunting his dreams, and it’s slowly killing every part of him.
“I don’t want you to see me like this, Stephanie. This is my burden to deal with, not yours. I can’t be trusted around you.”
Tears start to burn in my eyes, but I hold them back. He won’t want my pity, my sympathy. He needs me to be strong for him. He needs me to help fight his demons, just like he does for mine.
“I’m your wife, Finn. Your problems are mine now, remember? I'm here, and I’m not going anywhere.”
His eyes lock onto mine.
“I’ll annul it as soon as my lawyer is awake.”
Shaking my head, I jump out of bed, closing the distance between us.
His breathing is still shallow, his eyes wild.
And all I can think is that this man needs me.
This is more than a rivalry. More than a wedding gone wrong.
This is about the man who pushed me to be better. Who studied me to know me better than I know myself.
Who listened to me.
Who showed me who I really am. And gave me things I never knew I needed.
He never gave up on me, and I won’t ever do that to him.
“Baby, it’s okay. Whatever it is you’re fighting, you can tell me. I am your wife. I’m your friend. You can trust me.”
He runs a hand over his face, letting out a ragged breath.
“Love, I think there is a point at which a person becomes too broken to fix.”
I shrug, taking another careful step towards him.
“Did I say I wanted you to be anyone else but you? If you changed, I’m not sure I’d like you so much.”
I grin, hoping to tease him back to life.
“I always knew you were fucking insane, Dr. Quinn. It’s part of the attraction here.”
He tilts his head to the side, that spark returning in his dead eyes.
Sliding my arms around his neck, I drag him down to me.
“I trust you. You’re the only man I’ve ever trusted. Please come back to bed.”
He shakes his head, brushing his nose against mine.
“I don’t want to go back there. It’s been so long since my last nightmare. I thought maybe I’d gotten better, that I’d finally get over it.”
I suck in a breath. The more he speaks, the more it resonates with my own past.
