Page 60 of Stirring Attraction (Second Shot 2)
“I needed to talk to you.” She placed her hand on top of his. “I was wrong, Dominic.”
He raised an eyebrow. “I was going to tell you the same thing. All that time you were convinced someone was after you, that it wasn’t random. I should have listened.”
“Maybe you will next time,” she said. “But I wasn’t talking about Louis Stanton. I was wrong to send you away. I thought I needed safety, security, trust—”
“You deserve all those things, honey,” he said, the raspy quality slipping from his voice.
“But I need you.” She looked him straight in the eyes. “Your love.”
“You have it,” he said. “Always have, even when I tried to stay away and make room for someone better, who would never let you down.”
“You won’t,” she said firmly.
“Lil—”
“Dominic, you’re my rock. My stability. My safety net. And yes, I might need you to check behind every door for the rest of my life. After yesterday, I might never feel safe again.”
Don’t say that. But he knew it was the truth and he didn’t want any lies between them. He wanted to be the one person in Forever, the one person in this world, she shared everything with—her feelings, her body, and her love.
“Or maybe in a year,” she added, “I’ll be able to close my eyes in the shower even when you’re not home. Or maybe not. I’m done giving my fear a timeline.”
He nodded. “That’s good, Lily. Really good. And I’ll be there. When you shower, when you sleep. I swear I’ll be there for you.”
He’d play the part of her bodyguard forever if that’s what she needed. He wanted more, so damn much more . . . But maybe they weren’t ready yet. Still too broken. Hell, he didn’t even know if his right arm worked anymore.
“And if you do decide to leave—
“I’m not going anywhere, Lily.”
“But if you change your mind, if you go back to the army, or to Georgia, I’ll follow,” she continued, pushing on with a speech that he suspected she’d been preparing for the last ten hours while he’d taken an extended stay in dreamland.
“I’ll go wherever you go,” she said. “But not because you make me feel safe.”
He sat up a little straighter at those words.
“Dominic Fairmore, you’re everything I need.” She inhaled and he swore he saw tears brimming in her blue eyes, threatening to flood her cheeks.
“Don’t cry, Lil.”
“Shut up.” She wiped her eyes with her free hand. “I’m trying to tell you how I feel.”
He fell silent. Ask her if she loves you. And he would. He’d follow Noah’s advice if she didn’t say the words. But he knew her answer didn’t matter. Even if she wasn’t in love with him, he would still stand by her, watch over her, and take a bullet for her. He loved her too damn much to walk away ever again.
“I love you, Dominic.”
Fuck, yes.
Relief, joy, and yeah, in spite of the pain meds, desire surged through him. Lily Fairmore, his high school sweetheart, the only woman he’d ever wanted, ever loved or made love to, she loved him. Hell, he’d take another bullet right here, right now, just to hear her say those words again.
“I love you too, honey.” He reached his good hand up and cupped her cheek. “I always have and I always will.”
Epilogue
One year later. . .
“LILY? ARE YOU ready?” Dominic paced back and forth in front of the door to the Big Buck’s bathroom. “Noah will get suspicious if I don’t get back out there soon.”
“Almost,” the woman he loved called back.
