Her eyes soften and thank fuck, she finally steps back toward me and wraps her arms around my waist. I don’t waste the opportunity, yanking her into my embrace and crushing her to me.
“Hunter, there’s no measuring needed. I see your demons and they don’t frighten me. I want the best of you and the worst of you. You just need to let me in, so I can fight those shadows with you.” She tilts her head up to look at me, and what I see written in her eyes has my heart bursting in a good way. But I still need to earn her forgiveness.
“I know. I get that now. I’m just so fucking sorry it took me screwing up and hurting you to figure that out. Is there any way you can forgive me? Can we move forward?” I ask, hopeful, yet terrified at the same time. This is it. “I really am so sorry, Kat.”
“Of course, you’re forgiven. I won’t let us be defined by our past. But enough with the apologies, okay? We’re only going to get stuck in a Canadian standoff, and I can think of much better ways to show our forgiveness instead of getting caught in a loop of apologies.”
There’s a twinkle in her eyes that both soothes me and turns me on. And when she smiles that little smirk that promises all kinds of dirty things? I’m a goner.
Goddamn this woman. I’m so in love with her.
Chapter 13
Kat
I’m not trying to trivialize Hunter’s confession or our apologies to each other when I make my suggestion. And I know he sees that when he grabs me around my waist and lifts me up into his arms. My legs wrap around his body and finally our lips meet in a kiss that erases any lingering guilt or pain.
“Kat, I need to tell you this,” Hunter starts to say in between kisses. I chase after his mouth with my own, not needing to hear anymore words to know how I feel. “Babe. Please.”
I lean back in his arms, loving his strength and the ease with which he holds me. “You better walk and talk, buddy. Because I want to be naked in bed with you in less than ten seconds.”
His mouth flaps open and shut a couple of times before a slow, sexy smile creeps across his face. But Hunter doesn’t move.
“Hunter. Bedroom, now.” I say, trying to inject some sort of authority into my voice. My hand slaps ineffectively against his muscled shoulder. I might as well be trying to move a brick wall.
“It’s cute you think you’re in charge right now, Kitty Kat,” he says, his tone way too fucking casual. I narrow my eyes at him and start to squirm, hoping he’ll put me down. But I should know better.
“I said, I need to tell you something. And I meant, I need to tell you thisbeforeI strip your clothes off your body and make you come with my fingers, my tongue, and my cock.”
My body shudders in his arms and the heat that was starting to coil inside of me grows into an inferno.
Hunter tilts his head to the side and smirks at me. “Do I have your attention now?”
I nod, my tongue darting out to moisten my lips.
“Good. Because this is important.” He shifts slightly, somehow managing to hold me up with one arm so his free hand can come up to cup my cheek. “I love you, Kat Donnelly. And I need you to hear that now, not later, so you know this isn’t my dick talking, it’s my heart. Or maybe I should sayyourheart, because you own mine.”
Well, crap. Now I’m crying.
His thumb comes up to gently swipe away the tear that falls down my cheek. “Happy tears?” The smallest thread of uncertainty is in those two words. It’s now my mission to erase them completely.
I nod emphatically. “I love you, too. And you’ve got my heart, too.”
Finally, we’re moving, and seconds later Hunter drops me on my bed, following right after so his body hovers over top of me.
“Say it again.”
I lift my hands to cup his jaw and stare deep into his eyes that seem to be shining with unshed tears, just like mine. “I love you, Hunter. All of you.”
“I love you.” His lips crash into mine, his body pinning me to the bed. “God, I love you.”
I push against his chest and we make our way to sitting. Clothes start to fly everywhere as our movements turn frantic, as if the world might end if we don’t get naked immediately.
And when he’s bared to me, I finally manage to turn the tables on Hunter and flip him onto his back, swinging my legs up and over so I’m straddling him. My hands come to his chest and I hold him down, locking my gaze on his. I can feel his erection between my legs, getting coated in my own arousal, but this is more important.
“When I say I love all of you, I mean everything. The good stuff and the hard stuff. Do you trust me on that? Do you believe me when I say I’ll still love you when things seem dark?”
That tear I saw filling his eyes earlier spills over and he lifts a hand to brush it away. “Yeah,” he says, his voice hoarse with emotion. “I trust you. I believe you.”