Page 94 of Sheltered By Love

I was so busy trying to figure out what she was hiding, that I never considered what would happen if my actions caused her to leave.

Or how that would make me feel.

“Don’t go,” I say.

Her mouth parts and she looks so stunned, I stare at Jax’s glass table instead of her.

“I’m no good at this sort of thing. But I do care about you.”

“Since when? You’ve always been a jackass to me,” she says.

My eyes snap up, register the annoyance on her face, and for two seconds she just stares wide-eyed at me waiting for me to say the right thing.

But old habits die hard, and I say the first thing that comes to mind.

“Maybe if you had listened a little more, I wouldn’t have been,” I say.

Her eyes narrow. “You’re blaming your bad behavior on me?”

“I’m saying, you could have been hurt. And I didn’t want that to happen,” I say.

A flickering of rose brushes her cheeks. “Oh,” she says. “I didn’t want you to get hurt either,” she says quietly.

I swallow. My throat getting thicker with every second I sit here with her.

“What happened with you and your fiancé?” I say.

She juts out her chin. “He called the wedding off when his parents found out.”

My lip curls. “He’s an idiot.”

She scoffs. “And what would you have done? All of his friends and co-workers saw that video. And every single one of the people invited to our wedding too.”

I don’t hesitate. “It wouldn’t have happened if you were engaged to me. I never would have left your side,” I add.

I don’t breathe. She doesn’t seem to be either.

“I believe you,” she whispers.

We both move at the same time. Then her lips are against mine, and I’m kissing her way too hungrily.

Her hands creep under my shirt and she moans into my mouth, and it’s all the encouragement I need.

With a grunt, I pick her up and carry her into Jax’s spare bedroom where she slept last night.

I’ve made her miserable the past week, at least this is one way I know how to make it up to her.

And if she’ll let me, I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to her.

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