Yates’s gaze filled with something sharp and almost cautious. “Dahlia, I always know where you are. I’m always watching you.”
A shiver broke out across my arms as I tightened my hold on him. When he rolled us so I was under him, my breathing hitched as my pulse went skyrocket.
“Why?”
“You know why.” He nipped my bottom lip.
“Tell me?” I think I did know why, but I needed to hear it.
“The same reason I killed that asshole for touching you, let alone threatening you,” he growled, brushing his lips against mine. “Because I love you, bunny. Because you’re mine, and he doesn’t get to live after touching and threatening to hurt what’s mine. Hescaredyou. I saw it. I fucking saw how scared you were, and I just lost it.”
“Yates.” My breathing was tight. I wanted to say those words back to him, and I was in the process of doing so before he silenced me with a kiss.
“Not yet.” He shook his head. “Not until I show you something. Because once you say those words, Dahlia, you don’t get to take them back. You’re already mine, but you’re willingly sealing your fate if you say those words. Before you do that… I need to show you something.” The end was said with a bit of trepidation. He continued, “You need to realize just how far all of this goes.”
“How farwhatgoes?” I swallowed nervously.
“My feelings for you; my love for you,” he rasped.
“What do you mean?”
He took my hand, and I followed him out of bed. I considered putting more clothes on, but it was clear the man was in no mood to wait. I followed after, feeling oddly more awake and clear in the head than I had in the past forty-eight hours. I shouldn’t have felt like this, but something about the incident this morning had left me feeling far different than I would have expected.
That didn’t even include the nervous anticipation I felt because of the tension that Yates held in his muscular, golden back. Christ. The man was legitimately all hard, lean muscle. It was insane.
I frowned as I realized we were going up the stairs, and my heart jumped.Was this the room he had mentioned the other night?
Well, now I didn’t have to ask, which I had been planning to do for sure. I wondered what was in there that would make him feel the need to stop me from saying ‘I love you’ back. Because despite Yates being my archnemesis and travel buddy… I couldn’t deny that I loved the man. I loved him and probably had for some time. It was a raw and real emotion that surged through me in moments like this, when we were handling an issue or he was comforting me from a panic attack.
As we reached the top of the stairs to the fourth floor, I found myself intrigued by the large lounge space, the dark furnishings and leather couches not particularly matching the rest of the house. There was a large bar across the room and massive skylight windows that showed off the stormy skies and the rain that poured from them. I let out an appreciative hum, wondering what was so odd about this room.
That was until I watched Yates walk towards a heavy black door to the right, opposite of the bar. I swallowed as he motioned me over.
“Intimidating black door. Good. Great. That doesn’t make me nervous at all, paired with what you said downstairs.”
I swear, if this man had a room filled with bodies or something I would… probably stay and ask him why. Because I was clearly a lost cause when it came to these men. Christ. Did my insanity have no limits?
His eyes flashed with amusement and maybe a bit of concern as he opened up the door, the darkness making it seem all the more threatening. He let me pass, and instead of closing the door, he stayed where he was. A low, vibrating hum immediately started up, and the lights began to turn on in sets in response to someone entering the space, revealing the room in four sections.
My eyes went wide.
I’d watched a man be shot in the head right in front of me, and yet… This was somehow more surprising.
“Yates?” A weird thrill trailed up my spine as I looked around the room, feeling far less nervous than I should, considering the circumstance. Mostly because I could feel his gaze on me from where he lounged quietly against the doorway, his energy anything but relaxed, instead feeling dark and encompassing. I could almost feel him gauging and testing my reaction to what was in front of me. There was a predatory feel to his actions, like he was a lion toying with a mouse… or in this case, a bunny.
It really shouldn’t have turned me on, that much I knew.
But none of that could distract from what was in front of me. What he had wanted to show me before allowing me to say the words that I still very much felt. This was a reality that I think some part of me had known but always narrowly avoided focusing on. I mean… the man knew a lot about me, always. I had just assumed or told myself it was because he was overbearing, and it turned out he was.
And so, so much more.
I had avoided this. Mostly because of what it would mean. What it would change between the two of us. What it would mean in terms of myself. That I would be more than okay with this… and maybe actually like it?
Holy moly, I was screwed in the head.
I didn’t have that option anymore, to ignore it, and I knew that was his intention. He was laying his cards out on the table and daring me to still make the statement I was going to moments ago. He was showing me the extent of everything and waiting for me to react to this… madness. His madness.
A healthy reaction would have been to run. I clearly wasn’t healthy.