my arms, kissing every inch of her skin, and making up for lost time.
“Fine, we will stay for tonight,” I say, pinning him with a glare.
“Great, why don’t you go upstairs and get some rest? Karl will take you up.” He smiles, his eyes twinkling with some unknown emotion.
I don’t bother paying him another second of attention. Shifting gears, I tug Dove toward the grand staircase. Karl follows behind all the way to our room, like the guard dog he is.
Opening the door, I guide us into the room. The door shuts with a soft click, and all I can think is... finally, finally, we’re alone.
“Do we really have to stay here? This is wrong. Something feels off.” Concern is etched into her delicate face.
“Only for tonight. Tomorrow we will figure this out. Everything can wait until then because the only thing that matters to me right now is making sure you’re okay and reminding you of how much you mean to me.”
“I thought I lost you,” Dove says. Her voice is clogged with emotion.
“You’ll never lose me,” I tell her, pulling her into my arms. I squeeze her tight, wanting to melt our two bodies into one.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Tell you what?”
“That you are William…”
I peel her away from my chest just enough so I can look at her face. “You remember?”
“Yes. How could I forget you?”
“You told the therapist that you didn’t remember that time. She even said it was normal, considering what you’ve been through. Your mind is trying to protect you and all that shit.”
“I told everyone I didn’t remember because I never wanted to talk about it. Losing you hurt so bad. Saying it out loud just made it worse.”
“Oh, baby.” I pull her back into my embrace. “If I had known you’d remembered, I would have told you. That would have made things a whole lot easier.”
For a long moment, we just stand there holding each other. Then Dove breaks the silence, whispering, “You came for me…”
“Of course.” Does she doubt I would have? She should know the extent of my obsession by now. “No matter what happens, I’ll always come for you. I’ll always protect you. I’ll move heaven and hell to make sure you’re safe. You’re my number one and always have been. Nothing will ever change that. I love you, Dove. Always...”
31
His words hit me like a freight train. I’m overcome with emotion. Drowning in it. I’m uncertain about nearly everything at this point, everything but Zane.
I need him. Need to feel his hands on me, to press my lips against his, to carve out a piece of my heart and give it to him. It hasn’t been that long since I last saw him, but it feels like years after everything that’s happened. Pushing at his chest, I make him walk backward toward the large bed. I want to lie down and curl up on top of his chest.
“Can we please just go to bed? I’m so tired.”
“Whatever you want or need, we can do it.”
I nod, finally feeling free, safe, and secure. I haven’t felt even a sliver of safety since we left the hospital that day.
Zane starts peeling off my clothes until I’m in nothing but a pair of panties. His eyes roaming over my body as if he is inspecting every inch of it.
“No one touched you?” he asks again as if he didn’t hear or believe me when I told him earlier.
“No. I promise, I’m fine.” I tug on his shirt, wanting his skin to touch mine. He raises his arms, and I help him out of his shirt.
I gasp when I see the fresh bullet wounds. “You were shot!” Three times?” I knew he had been hurt, but nothing prepared me for seeing the wounds up close.
Zane chuckles. “I’m fine, Dove. I’m not that easy to kill.”
“I know, but you almost died.” Staring at his chest, I can’t bring myself to look him in the eyes. I feel immense guilt for those three wounds. Almost as if I was the one that pulled the trigger. Had I not begged to go and see Donna…
Zane’s gentle voice cuts off my train of thought, and two fingers lift my chin, forcing me to look into his eyes. “Almost isn’t the same as did. There was no way in hell I was going to die in that parking garage, knowing that Christian had you. I was put on this earth to protect you, and I don’t care