“I wish…” I have to swallow hard on the emotion that’s so powerful it’s almost impossible to believe it’s real, “I wish you could look inside me and see how much I love you.”
His features tighten as if he’s in physical pain. “Baby, I’m sorry I was so fucking blind.” He nudges his forehead against mine. “But I know. Christ, I know how much you love me.”
“How?” I whisper, our breaths caressing each other.
“In your darkest hour, you still only saw me. I should’ve known then. Fuck, I was so stupid.”
My body trembles from his words, my heart constricting. “I wouldn’t have survived without you.”
He lightly shakes his head. “You would’ve. You’re so fucking strong.”
His features tighten even more, something clearly wrong, and it has me framing his jaw and asking, “What is it? Talk to me.”
“It hurt so fucking much to just stand there. I heard what you said, but it… it still fucking guts me.”
“I’m sorry you had to see that.” I press a tender kiss to his mouth. “Thank you for being strong for me, for being my safe haven.”
His palms brush over my temples and cheeks, his eyes filling with wonder. “My lifeline. My fucking sanity.” We’re so caught up in each other the world could end, and we wouldn’t know. “I can’t live without you, JJ.” He shakes his head as if the idea alone is too devastating. “I can lose everything but you.”
“Same,” I whisper, entranced by him. “Same, O’Brien.”
O’Brien
We spend hours whispering our devotion to each other, amazement hitting me every couple of minutes that this fucking angelic creature is mine.
JJ’s phone ringing breaks the spell we’re under and seeing Lindsay’s name flashing on the screen, I swipe up the device before JJ can and answer, “Hey, Lindsay.”
“Ahh… Daniel?” She sounds stunned out of her mind.
“Yeah.” I clear my throat and pull JJ against my chest, taking a deep breath of her. “Sorry for being such an asshole.”
“Oh, yeah…” she pauses for a moment, “I’m so going to punch you when I see you.”
“I understand.” The corner of my mouth curves up. “I’m stealing your sister for the rest of the day and tonight. Want to come over to my place for dinner tomorrow night?”
“Sure. Text me the address.” I hear her taking a deep breath, then she asks, “Did you and JJ talk about everything?”
“We did. We’ve cleared the air.”
“Is she okay?” The smile around my mouth grows.
I pull back and look at JJ’s face, taking in the light in her eyes. “Yeah, she’s okay.”
“Are you okay?” Lindsay asks.
“I’m better than okay.” I let out a chuckle. “I love your sister, she loves me, everything’s good.”
“Oh. My. God!” she screeches in my ear. “Send me the address. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
The call ends, and I’m met with a grin from JJ. “I heard the shrieking.” She starts to fiddle with the fabric of my t-shirt. “Thank you.”
Lifting my hand to her chin, I nudge her face up until our eyes lock. Needing to check something so I know where JJ’s at, my tone is suggestive as I murmur, “So, now that the I love yous are said and the misunderstandings are cleared out of the way…” Nervousness washes over her features, telling me what I needed to know – it’s going to take a while before JJ’s ready for sex. Wanting to set her at ease, I continue, “what do you want to eat?”
A relieved breath sputters from her, but then she sees in my eyes I read her mind, and her chin starts to quiver. “Sorry.”
I shake my head hard. “One step at a time, baby. I have a lot of damage control to do before we get to work on your trauma. There’s no rush.”
Wrapping her arms around my neck, she hugs me, then admits, “I was so focused on getting back to you I didn’t deal with what happened. I just shoved it aside.”
I brush my hand up and down her back, pressing a kiss to her hair. “Now, we focus on you.” I engulf her against me, relishing how feminine she feels in my arms, how fucking perfect. “You tell me what you need, and I’ll make it happen.”
“This,” she whispers. “I just need this and a ton of sleep.”
I hold JJ until the phone beeps with a message. Reading it, I chuckle. “Shit, I forgot to text Lindsay the address.” I quickly type it out, then walk to the fridge asking, “What do you want to eat, baby?”
“Something quick?” She slips off the island and comes to peer into the fridge. “Ooh, we can grill steaks tomorrow.” Glancing around, she asks, “Do you have a grill?”
“Out back.” I grab cheese and bread to make grilled cheese and set the items down on the counter. “Want to open the sliding doors? The key’s on the mantel.”
I watch her as she walks to the living room, grabs the key, and opens the sliding doors. The corner of my mouth lifts, loving the sight of JJ in my home. It feels as if she’s always belonged here. As if she’s finally home.
Turning around, a frown forms on her forehead, then she says, “Sooo… I have a question.”
“Let me have it.” I grab two plates from the cupboard.
“You live in a mansion.”
“That’s not a question, baby.” I almost chuckle while preparing the sandwiches.
“You don’t need to work, do you?”
Glancing in her direction, I shake my head.
JJ comes back to the kitchen, and pushing in between the counter and my body, she looks up at me with awe.
“Daniel O’Brien,” she says, the corner of her mouth lifting, “How do you still manage to blow my mind after a year?”
My eyebrow raises. “My inheritance blows your mind?”
She shakes her head. “No, you do. Your sense of honor, your determination to make a difference. Your willingness to lay down your life to make the streets safer.” Her eyes are filled with admiration, making me feel like I just restored world peace to the fucking planet. She tilts her head. “You still don’t see what I see when I look at you?”
“As long as you keep looking at me like that, I don’t care what you see when you look at me,” I joke.
“You’re an incredible man, Daniel.” Her words hit me deeply, the cracks in my foundation sealing with her love. “And so damn perfect.” My mouth lifts in a grin, then she adds, “And hot. That grin just makes me stupid.”
Letting out a burst of laughter, I sweep her off her feet in a crushing hug. “If you don’t stop, we’re not going to eat.” I set her down to the side and press a kiss on her lips. “Grab us a couple of beers from the fridge.”
“Yes, sir.”
My thumb brushes over her bottom lip, heat simmering in my veins. “You’re looking for trouble, Jefferson.”
She pulls away from me before I can kiss the fuck out of her, and as she walks past me, I slap her ass as punishment for teasing me.