Pointing to my gloved hands, he asks, “May I?”
Exhaustion hits me, and I lean back against the couch, placing my hand in his outstretched one. “Fine, but only because I’m tired.”
He tries to hide the chuckle that escapes him but fails. The anger beginning to dissolve inside me, despite my protest.
“Of course. Now, is there something you would like to say first, or can I plead my case?”
“You can plead your case, but I can’t promise you will win. The defense is quite pissed off at her plaintiff boyfriend.”
Ari’s head snaps up. “Boyfriend?”
Scrubbing my gloved hand down my face, I sigh.
He would latch onto that one word and act as if he won the damn lottery.
“Yes, Aries. Last time I checked, you calling me your girlfriend usually implies that you are my boyfriend,” I say, sarcasm coating every word.
Before I can stop him, Ari leans forward, placing a chaste kiss to my lips before returning his attention to my glove. “Sorry. Had to.” He pauses to pull the glove off and immediately starts working on the tape covering my wrist. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I shouldn’t have acted the way I did or implied that I didn’t trust you. I trust you with my entire heart and soul, Taylor.”
“You keep saying that, but why are you keeping me in the dark? You may think you’re an expert at hiding your emotions, but you’re not. I can see right through that facade. You may have everyone else fooled, but not me.
“You came to me when the nightmares were too much, but now that you are healthy enough to fight back, I’m locked out. Why am I good enough to fight the demons in the night, but not the ones that lurk in the daytime?”
Ari’s gaze is locked on mine as silence fills the air, my words hanging in suspense.
Grasping my hand in his, he moves to kneel in front of me, his dark eyes staring straight into mine. “I’m so sorry. I will not bother you by saying the same things I’ve said many times before because right now they will fall away behind the noise of you thinking I don’t trust you. So please hear me when I say this.”
Ari pauses and tears well in his eyes. And because seeing this man hurt is like a punch to the gut, I bring his hand to my lips, placing a soft kiss on the small anchor tattooed on his thumb.
“Are you listening, Hellhound? Because I’m going to make this short and sweet so that beautiful head of yours doesn’t have room to over-analyze it,” Ari asks, his voice cracking.
I nod.
“I trust you with my entire soul and if my sweet Rayne were alive to see the day I met the one true love of my life, I would trust you to take care of her heart, just like you do mine. I’m in love with you, Taylor. Always have been and will be until my last breath.”
A lone tear cascades down my face, and I don’t care.
Launching off the couch, I fly into Aries’ arms.
Aries hugs me tightly against his chest as we fall backwards onto the padded floor.
“I’m sorry, Hellhound. I just want to keep you safe and out of danger. It would gut me if anything happened to you because of me. But I see now that keeping you in the dark will do nothing but pull us apart. And I can’t protect you if you start pulling away, thinking I don’t trust you. I’m so—”
I cut his words off by slamming my mouth against his. “Stop,” I say, leaning back, my arms propping me up on his chest. “I understand. I’m sorry for not sticking around to hear you out. You’ve asked me not to get involved and I should respect that, but like you said, I’m great at my job and who better to help you than your talented and beautiful girlfriend?”
Ari’s hands dig into my side, tickling me. “Full of yourself, Hellhound?”
“Very.”
Ari presses a lingering kiss to my lips. “Well, it's a good thing it’s true.” His eyes cast a long, lingering gaze over my face. “I love you.”
My head falls to his.
Ari Clark is the true definition of what I want in a man. He protects without caution and loves with a passion running thicker than the blood in his veins.
He has the patience of a saint and has shown me more grace than I deserve.
I have no idea what tomorrow may hold, but I know without a shadow of a doubt, I am falling for this man and I never want to stop.
