Page 190 of Sins of Innocence

That won't stop me from planting my flag on the shore of his heart and laying claim to it though.

"Are you listening right now, Kieran Veseli?" I hold his gaze. "Because this is important."

He opens his mouth to speak. Nothing comes out.

I lean forward and give him another brief kiss.

He clears his throat. "I'm listening."

"I'm fine. No concussion. No abrasions." I don't mention the bruising from the seatbelt that will probably be visible tomorrow.

It's unavoidable and a sign the safety restraints did what they were supposed to, but Kieran won't see it that way.

"The car did its job," he says, almost bitterly.

I blink. "It did."

"It shouldn't have needed to."

My brow furrows. He's not meeting my eyes anymore. He's looking at something over my shoulder.

Or some time that is not now. The accident.

"Tell me what's going on inside your head." Tell me why you're not touching me the way I need you to, I plead silently.

Always before, when his hands are on me, his thumbs or his fingers are moving, caressing, connecting.

Now his hold on my waist is utterly still.

At least he hasn't moved his hands away. I don't know what it would do to me if he did.

I may not be sitting here in alpha male protector guilt mode, but my emotions feel raw. And believing Kieran loves me isn't the same as knowing it, is it?

What if I'm wrong?

"I failed," he says baldly. "Like I failed my mom. I broke my promise."

Eleven words. Now we're getting somewhere.

How can he think he failed me though? No, I'm not asking that because it's simply not true. "No."

He frowns at me. "You almost died."

"Not even close."

His jaw tightens. "You could have."

"So could you. We're both safe and healthy. Why aren't we celebrating?"

"I promised to protect you."

Is he talking in Kieran code right now? Because I'm not getting the disconnect here. "Which is exactly what you did."

"I should have realized Kenneth was still a threat to you."

"Stop pretending you didn't," I say with exasperation. "You had a four-man security team on me. I don't go anywhere without them. You don't let me and the girls ride in anything but armored cars."

"I thought he was effectively neutralized. I was wrong."