I gazed into her beautiful green eyes, and the vulnerability I saw there tore my damn heart out. “Only if you really want to tell me, sweetheart,” I said, backing down a little because she looked so damn…open and defenseless.
Maybe I’d pushed her too damn hard.
“Fine,” she said in a short, tense voice, her eyes still locked with mine. “I have one very big problem. I love you, Hudson. I’m madly, completely, totally in love with you. I know it’s way too soon, and you probably think I’m crazy, but I can’t stop it. And when you do ridiculously thoughtful things for me like you did with the pendant, I want to throw myself in your arms and tell you just how much I love you. I want you to know that I’ve never, ever felt this way before, and I know in my heart that I’ll never feel this way again, so I didn’t want to lose you by jumping the gun. But I just cannot contain it any longer. You don’t just have my body and my mind. You have my heart and my soul, too.”
I could see it. Jesus! I could see it in her eyes.
I was so stunned that I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t react.
Taylor fidgeted as she broke the silence, “So, yeah, that’s it. I love you. I wanted to be able to tell you, but I didn’t want you to freak about it. That’s all.”
She stood up, and I could tell she was feeling awkward as she started to move away from the bed.
Oh, hell no!
I snagged her around the waist, and pulled Taylor onto the bed. She landed on her back, and I pinned her wrists beside her head. “Have I ever, in any way, given you the impression that I wouldn’t want to hear that?” I snarled.
Her eyes widened. “You never seemed to be leaning that direction,” she said hesitantly. “I didn’t know how you’d take it, but I had to say it, Hudson. You had to know I was crazy about you. For me, I’d come too far not to be honest, but I was trying to wait. I know you want me really bad, and I know you care—”
I slammed my mouth down on hers so she couldn’t say another damn word.
I kissed her like I wanted to inhale every ounce of love she wanted to give me, and I groaned when she tangled her tongue with mine, pushing back, entwining us together.
I was breathing hard by the time I came up for air, but that wasn’t going to keep me talking. “Don’t say anything, Taylor. Not right now. Just listen,” I said in a voice that sounded like I’d just run five miles at a sprinting pace.
Obviously, I’d given her some mixed signals. Somehow, she’d missed the obvious, and that was ending right now.
I took a couple of deep breaths. “I probably started to fall in love with you from the day I rescued you. You were so damn brave, so smart, and so incredibly resilient that I was drawn to you almost immediately. By the time I got you back to the States, I was fucking obsessed with getting you better, and making sure nobody would ever hurt you like that again. Did I feel guilty? Yes. Was that my chief motivation? No. You are and always will be the most fascinating woman I’ve ever known. I didn’t want anybody to touch you except me when you were vulnerable, and I wanted you to trust me so damn badly that I was obsessed about that, too. By the time you started getting my dick hard, I knew I was screwed. I was already madly in love with you. I love you, Taylor. I have almost since the beginning. I have never, and will never feel this way again, either, and I was probably way more scared of losing you than you were about losing me. Jesus! I thought it was pretty damn obvious how I felt. Had I known that you would have been okay with me saying those words out loud, I would have. A long time ago. So, hell no, it’s not too damn soon. I’ve just been waiting for you to catch up with me in the obsessive love department.” I searched her eyes, trying to gauge her reaction, but she just seemed to be laser-focused on what I was saying. “Maybe I’m a greedy bastard, but I want it all, Taylor.