I remembered the cut on his palm last night, the one I’d bandaged when he returned to me after confronting his father. He’d promised that whatever had happened meant that I was safe from his criminal family, especially his sadistic cousins who’d attacked me in the alley outside my house.
“I didn’t mean it that way,” Davis placated, calling my attention back to him. “I’m not talking about Max’s scar. I’m just surprised, that’s all. You haven’t known him long.” His mouth tugged in a teasing smile. “And he is a bad boy. That leather jacket and all those muscles are hot.”
A laugh gusted from my chest. My friend was getting caught up in his romantic notions again.
But this wasn’t a fairy tale, and the danger Max’s cruel family posed had been very real.
Love is hard, but blood is everything. His haunting words echoed through my mind. He’d said them more than once, a well-worn litany.
My heart squeezed. No wonder he hadn’t said I love you when I’d confessed my feelings for him. His idea of love came with soul-deep pain and torment. I would never hurt him, but of course, he would feel vulnerable at the prospect of admitting he loved me.
“When I told him I loved him, he didn’t say it back,” I confessed to my friends. “I was kind of upset about it, but I get it. It is soon.”
We hadn’t known each other long, but I couldn’t deny my feelings for my dark protector, the man who held me with harsh passion and awe. There was still so much that should separate us, but I wouldn’t allow complications like his hatred of my father to keep us apart.
And I wouldn’t allow his sadistic family to separate us. I loved Max, and I would have to show him that he was safe with me; I would always protect his heart, just as he protected me.
“Aw, honey,” Isabel said, her brow furrowed. “Do you think he doesn’t feel the same way for you as you do for him? Because you deserve someone who’s crazy about you.”
What Max and I shared definitely edged close to madness. He was wild in his desire for me. We’d only been separated for a few hours, and already, I ached to return to his strong arms.
I thought of how his dark eyes sparked when he looked at me, how his sharp jaw tightened with hunger. How his full mouth sealed mine when he claimed me with desperation, as though he needed me more than his next breath.
“I think he cares for me as deeply as I do for him,” I asserted. “But I don’t think he’s ready to say it back. He’s been through a lot. I know his family mistreats him.” That was the understatement of the century; his own father had burned his beautiful face. And that cut on his hand last night. What had that been about?
I had my own issues to work through with my dad, but he would never hurt me like that.
I straightened my spine. If Max wasn’t ready to say the words back, I could put myself on the line for him. I could have the courage to love him openly, to prove to him that love didn’t have to come with pain. Max had been so brave protecting me, so fierce in defending me.
If you hurt her, I will fucking kill you.
My skin pebbled at the memory of his murderous threat to his cousins. I didn’t want to believe he’d been speaking literally.
I will do anything to protect you. He’d been completely serious when he’d made that promise.
I shook off my budding concern over his violent streak. He’d viciously defended me from Gavin, and I didn’t feel so much as a shred of disquiet or remorse over my bully’s bloody injuries.
“He seems to have anger issues,” Charlie said carefully. “Are you sure about this guy, Allie? I’m sorry if his family has messed him up, but lots of people have crappy families without being… Well, I saw him that night outside the bar. He looked like he was ready to grab you away from us. I just don’t want you to confuse his possessiveness with love. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
I’d been crushed when Max had walked away from me, when his family had threatened me in order to force him to break things off.
“The only way he could hurt me is if he leaves me,” I said firmly, meeting her squarely in the eye. “I love him, Charlie. I know you’re just looking out for me, but I promise you that I’m safe with Max.”
He was safe with me too. I could show him with my words and actions that I would protect his heart. I would trust him with my own.
“Yeah, and he beat up Gavin,” Davis reminded everyone. “I like him.”
“But we still want to meet him properly,” Isabel added. “If you love him, we want to know him.”
“I want that too,” I said truthfully. Things were too complicated right now for a casual night out together, but my chest warmed at the thought of Max with my friends, surrounded by their love and support. He deserved that.
He deserved to be loved.
I wouldn’t stop saying it until he felt safe confessing his feelings for me. Max was the strongest man I’d ever met, but I could be strong for him too.
I could hardly wait to be back in his arms, to hold him close and promise my love to him.
* * *