Page 120 of The Daredevil

I updated her and said we could visit Arto and his family soon.

She let out a sigh. “At least that’s one bit of good news to balance out the day.”

I brought her wrists to my lips, kissing the markings and wishing I could erase them. Though Michelle hadn’t been seriously injured, the fear she must have experienced wouldn’t be forgotten.

“He should’ve died a more painful death.” I pulled her down onto my lap and studied her. She was stunning, perfect, and mine. I could have lost her today. Every time I closed my eyes and thought back to when I heard the first gunshot, my heart lost its function.

The anger that should have been in her eyes wasn’t there. Maybe she was too tired to feel anything. Or maybe she didn’t love me anymore.

“Are we okay?” I asked.

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “I’m ready for your explanation.”

The distrust in her voice pricked my heart. “There’s nothing between Fiona and me. Dominic was on a vendetta to destroy me, and I didn’t want him to know about you. So I kept you at arm’s length for your safety. Fiona had connections that were useful, so I asked for her help in exchange to keep her name out of the news.”

Confused, she furrowed her eyebrows.

“Information was sent to the media about the corrupt police chief and those associated with him. Fiona didn’t have anything to do with hurting you. That was all Brittany. I knew you’d react the way you did, which was why I kept reminding you totrustme.”

“It’s hard to trust when my eyes tell me otherwise. All trust and logic left my brain at that moment. When I saw you with her, I lost it. You would have reacted the same way.”

“I would have killed the guy.”

“I was devastated, but a part of me clung to hope. I knew I was missing something, but I couldn’t find the piece.” She brushed her fingers over my chin, feeling my stubble.

I shifted Michelle’s body to straddle my thighs, facing me. Nerves churned in my stomach as heat rose in my body. I was a grown man who went skydiving like it was my pastime for entertainment. I loved the thrill, the edge where my breath hung with danger. The sensation liberated me. Yet here I was, frightened to confess my love to a woman who opened my heart. She was the only woman who made me feel vulnerable . . . and alive.

My heart palpitated as though I was preparing to jump off a bridge. It pounded, pumping blood through my veins, making me fully aware of the rhythm of my breathing. I should be used to this stimulation, but exposing my deepest feelings was uncharted terrain. I’d never done it before. Was I doing it correctly? Would there be quicksand waiting to swallow me up?

Courage was having an affair with that which frightens you. I gave courage my most intimate offering—my genuine and unprotected heart and all its facets.

I blew out a breath because my body needed to loosen the tension.

Just tell her.

Michelle looked at me with suspicion. “What are you still hiding from me?”

I looked her square in the eye and bared my soul. “Before you, I lived life like an adventure, moving from one to another with no real emotions—not the intimate kind. I’d locked those up deep inside me—sort of like a dormant volcano, never imagining it would come alive.” Grabbing her hand, I placed it over my erratic heartbeat.

She pressed her lovely lips together, but didn’t interrupt me.

“But you penetrated that depth, ignited that fire, and my soul erupted with all these raw and unfamiliar feelings. They spilled out of me, scorching, unstoppable, and unforgettable, like lava carving into my soul, making mefeelall the emotions. Making me aware of my body, my heart, and even my surroundings. The air is sweeter, and the sun is brighterbecauseof you. Everything is more vibrant because of you. Your love has permanently transformed me, and that scared me. I didn’t think I deserved love.”

“Everyone deserves love, Royce. It’s what we all seek even if we might not know it.”

I interlaced my fingers with hers. Before I could say those sacred words on the tip of my tongue, she had to understand how she’d changed me.

“You make me feel wanted—like I have more to offer this world. Your love makes me feelalive.”

A jewel of a tear glistened as it slid down her cheek. “Ditto.”

I wiped the tear away with my knuckle. “To feel is to never forget, andI’ll never forget how loving you has changed me.”

She sucked in a breath and bore those beautiful brown eyes into me.

“I love you.” The words came out like a graceful current of air, carrying my deepest and sacred emotions to her.

She blinked.

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