Page 75 of Deception
He moves to the bed and stares at the floor as he leans forward on his elbows. “I know. I needed someone to back me up to get Cole the fuck out of here, and I figured your brother would have the same motivation as me.”
“It—”
“I couldn’t just sit by and do nothing. Not when I know how much he hurt you. It’s not in me to do that, and there was no way in hell I was going to let that motherfucker sit at the same table as me. This is your club, too.”
“You had good intentions,” she says.
Snapping his head up, he searches her face. “I did?”
Sighing, she smiles and moves to stand in front of him. “This is your one get out of jail free card, Kent Conway. I need to trust you, and you know how difficult that is for me.”
“I’m so sorry, kid,” he says and stares into her eyes. “I have never seen red like that before, but the moment I heard him say that shit, I wanted him dead.”
“I noticed,” she says and runs her fingers through his hair. “I think you scared a few people. You’re the last one they expect to see react… I’d saylike that, but the truth is, I don’t think they expect you to react, period.”
His heart pounds in his chest as they gaze into each other’s eyes. “I’ve never gotten that angry at anything in my life,” he admits. “But there’s a reason I did.”
“Yeah? What’s that?”
“Because I’m in love with you.”
She freezes, her hands in his hair, and her mouth drops open slightly. Nothing comes out of her mouth, and he knows she’s not ready to admit how she feels yet.
“Knowing what he did to you and how he abandoned Nolan drives me fucking insane. I wanted to kill him before I even knew who he was, and then once I knew him, he had the nerve to say that shit about you.”
“Kent—”
“You’re not ready yet, and that’s okay.”
Shaking her head, Gracie leans back, but he plants his hands on her hips to keep her from backing away from him. He needs her to understand that he means every word he said, especially after sharing her secret.
“I… I don’t know what to say.”
“That’s okay.”
“How is it okay?”
Kent smiles. “I don’t need you to say that you love me for me to love you. I’ve been in love with you since the night you showed up at my apartment and offered me all of you. You trusted me enough to give into your desires, and that’s why the thought of anyone hurting you makes me insane.”
“I care about you—”
“I know. I mean it, Gracie. It’s okay that you’re not ready to say it or are even there yet.”
Her tongue slides out over her bottom lip, and he stares at it. “I’m scared to open myself up to you in that way.”
“I promise never to break your heart.”
“You can’t promise that. No one can.”
Considering how he proved he’s not always trustworthy with his words, he’s not sure he has much of a leg to stand on. To prove the validity behind his words, but he means it. He’ll never break Gracie’s heart.
He tugs her into his lap and gently kisses her as he pushes her hair away from her face. “I can. You’re it for me, Gracie Short.”
“You’re only twenty, Kent. You can’t know that for sure.”
Cupping her cheek, he rubs his thumb along her soft skin. “When I see my future, I see you and Nolan. I see us outside, and I’m teaching him to throw a football. Or baseball. I’m sitting right there next to you at his little league games. Or maybe hewants to play soccer. Or football. It doesn’t matter because in every scenario, I’m there.”
“It still doesn’t feel real that you love Nolan the way you do. You care about him like he’s yours.”
