Page 141 of Claim Me
“Er, thanks,” I say to him.
He kisses my temple. “Never thank me for taking care of you, Fallon.”
I glance back at him, startled by this nurturing side of him. “Yet you expected me to thank you for not killing me?”
He smiles. “Because I meant to shoot to kill, little canary.” He tilts his head to the side. “But fate wouldn’t let me. At least now we know why.”
“Wait…” I fully face him. “Youmeantto kill me?”
“I did.”
I arch a brow. “So you missed?”
“Yep.”
“Meaning you didn’t purposely shoot me in the shoulder, yet you’ve spent the last however many months insisting you weren’t trying to kill me.” I fold my arms and narrow my gaze. “Why?”
“Because I didn’t want to give you more cause to hate me.”
“Yet you’re coming clean now?”
He shrugs. “Kaspian has a thing about lies. If we’re all going to be in a mate circle, I have to tell the truth.”
“You expect me to accept our mating after you admitted to trying to kill me?”
“Yep,” he answers simply.
I gape at him. “Seriously?”
“Yep,” he repeats.
I’m so flabbergasted that I don’t know what to say to any of this.He just… he just… And I…
“Do you want to know why I expect that?” he asks, stepping closer to me.
Against my better judgment, I find myself nodding.
He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, then leans down to whisper, “Because I’m the mate who will never hold back. The one you can rely on to give it to you straight, no matter how much it’ll piss you off. The one who will push you even when you don’t want to be pushed. The one who will ensure you’re ready for everything and anything life has to throw at you.”
I swallow, unsure if I like all of that. Which I suppose is his point, in a way.
“I’ll also be the one to protect you with everything I am. The one willing to do whatever it takes to ensure your safety and happiness. And the one who will spend eternity trying to prove my worth to you because I fully accept the fact that I’ve fucked everything up between us from the moment we first met.”
He wraps his palm around my nape, his multicolored eyes intense as he pulls back to meet my gaze.
“I may be entirely wrong, and you might reject me. But even if you do, I’ll remain devoted to you. Because, Fallon, I’ve wanted you from the moment you woke up and gave me hell for shooting you.” He presses his forehead to mine. “There will never be anyone else for me. Only you.”
I’m so shocked by his declarations that I have no idea how to reply.
“And lastly,” he murmurs, his voice barely loud enough for me to hear over the rooftop wind. “Lastly, I’ll be the one to distract you when you need it most.” His lips whisper across mine. “Such as right now.”
He releases me before I can speak, then carefully turns me around just as my sister steps through a portal door.
“Issy!” I rush forward as she runs toward me.
My arms encircle her neck in the next breath as I cling to my sister for dear life.You’re okay. You’re here. And you’re okay.
She echoes the sentiment in my head as we make up for years of not being able to hug one another.
