Tears filled my eyes, and I couldn’t seem to find my voice. There was still so much left unsaid between us, so many things we needed to resolve.
“Baby, please say something.” Hayden’s grip tightened on my hand.
“How are we going to make this work? Our families—”
“Fuck our families. What doyouwant?”
I swallowed hard. I wanted the life we’d had for the past few months but without the secrets between us. “I want to be your wife.”
His entire aura brightened with blinding happiness as he slid my rings back on. “Fuck, I love you so much, and I’m never ever letting you go.” He climbed to his feet, wincing as he did, and then his lips were on mine. His hands dove into my hair and ran over every inch of my body he could reach, like he was assuring himself I was real. “What do I need to do to earn your forgivenessfor being an ass last weekend?” he whispered in my ear.
“We need to talk,” I said, pulling back enough to look at him.
“So talk.”
“First of all, why do you keep wincing?”
His gaze dropped. “I’d rather not say.”
“Hayden. No more secrets.”
“Your brother punched me.”
“What?” I shouted.
“Hey.” He pulled me against him. “It’s okay. I deserved it, and I’m considering myself lucky he didn’t do worse. I did tell him he could kill me if I hurt you.”
“You’re an idiot.”
“I know. I’m working on it.”
“Come on. Let me look at it.” I disentangled myself from his arms and pulled him farther into the small guest room I’d been staying in for the past couple of nights.
Hayden took in the double bed covered in a plain white bedspread, the small dresser with a mirror hanging over it, the painting of Nate’s younger sister that hung on the wall.
“Lie on the bed.” I told him. “And take off the shirt.”
He smirked at me. “Yes, ma’am.”
His fingers worked the buttons free slowly, like he was doing a striptease. And if I felt like being honest, it was working. I couldn’t help staring as he revealed his chest inch by inch. I wanted to run my tongue over every bit of exposed skin, to thread my fingers through the dusting of dark hair, to feel his abs quiver and contract under my touch.
When his dress shirt was hanging open, he moved to the bed and stretched out on his back, his eyes never leaving mine. He watched me with an intensity that I felt down to my core. God, he looked like a partially unwrapped present lying there, watching me like that.
Stop it,I scolded myself.He’s hurt.
That thought sobered me up. My fingers began to tingle when they got close to his bare skin, and as soon as I made contact, I felt my power rush to heal him as if it had a mind of its own. He wasn’t seriously injured, but I still took it all away.
“How does that feel?” I asked when I’d finished.
Hayden’s hand came up to catch my wrist before I could pull my hand away. “Perfect,” he murmured as he brought my palm to his lips. “You said you wanted to talk, Sunday School. Talk to me.”
“I didn’t tell Miles or anyone else in your family that I was an angel.”
“I know, and I’m sorry for accusing you of that. I was wrong.”
“Why didn’t you call me back?”
He sat up, cupping my cheek with his free hand. “You called?”
