Page 67 of Shadow Hunter

Shit.

He opened his mouth several times to speak but couldn’t find any words.

He was still too much of a coward. Every time he tried to find the right thing to say, his mouth went dry and the words dissipated. What was wrong with him? Why couldn’t he tell her? For fuck’s sake, he knew exactly why. Because admitting he loved her would make him vulnerable. Though he’d often refused to admit it to himself, he’d been in love with her for years.

They both knew it. She already held his heart.

But if he said he loved her, he would be defenseless and exposed.

She would have even more power to hurt him than she did now, and damn if that wasn’t the scariest thing he could ever imagine, that vulnerability. It flew in the face of everything he’d been trained for. Of all he’d been taught to be.

Tiffany patted the spot next to her, motioning for him to sit. He sat down, resting his elbows on his knees, completely unable to speak. The pain in his chest overwhelmed him. Everything inside him wanted to grab her, tell her that he loved her and kiss her senseless, but he…just couldn’t do it. What kind of life could he offer her when it really came down to it?

The same fate Mark had come to?

If not now, eventually…

She let out a long sigh. “I don’t think I need to tell you that I was wrong to shut you out like I did. I think you already know it.”

Damon’s stomach churned. Suddenly nothing else mattered but the words that had just left her lips. The cold weather ceasedto chill him, and the wind stopped burning his cheeks. She wasn’t saying what he thought she was...was she?

“Here.” She pushed an overstuffed, unstamped envelope toward him.

“What is this?” he choked out.

She bit her lower lip and stared straight ahead, refusing to meet his eyes. “The letters I wrote you. I never sent them.”

He watched her in disbelief. She’d written to him?

She turned toward him. Tears streamed down her face, staining her porcelain cheeks. Her voice cracked as she spoke. “You need to know—I need you to know—that I never stopped loving you, not for one second.”

Damon tangled his fingers into her hair and encircled her waist with his arm. He pulled her into him so fast that he barely realized what he was doing before his lips crashed against hers. He kissed her deep, their tongues swirling against each other. The feel of her body pressed against him, coupled with the words she’d just spoken, sent his heart racing into overdrive.

Slowly he released her hair but never stopped cradling her head. His lips brushed against hers as he spoke. “I never stopped dreaming of you,” he whispered.

A single warm tear slid onto his cheek, falling from her face as he kissed her again. He scooped her into his arms and carried her into the warmth of the apartment toward the bedroom.

If he couldn’t say he loved her, he could at least try his damnedest to show her in whatever way he could.

Damon couldn’t have been morecontent as Tiffany lay against him, her head nestled into the crook of his arm. His eyes ran over her naked form. She was so damn beautiful.

Angels couldn’t compare.

He allowed his head to sink into the softness of the pillow. Closing his eyes, like an idiot he pinched himself, but when he opened his lids again he was lying in the same exact spot. Was this really happening? Was this what lay in his future? His nights spent protecting the innocent, with Tiffany there to lie in his arms when he arrived home at the crack of dawn?

It may not be forever. For either of them.

But it was enough.

It had to be.

After they’d returned to the bedroom, he’d tucked her letters inside the pocket of his jacket. He was still in a state of disbelief. She’d written him letters. He couldn’t decide whether he was looking forward to reading them...or dreading it.

A sharp buzz sounded from the bedside table as his cell phone vibrated. Tiffany stirred, blinking lazily as her eyes opened. The phone continued to buzz.

He looked at the caller ID. Shit. Headquarters calling never meant flowers and rainbows.

He snatched the phone from the table. “Hello?”

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