He nodded. “Of course I do.”
“And you also told me that you didn’t expect me to say anything in return right then . . . and I didn’t?” She carried that regret with her still.
The tiniest muscle in his jaw twitched. “Yes.”
She couldn’t read his expression, and her heart raced wildly in her chest as she hoped and prayed she wasn’t too late. “I should have said something, Hunter.”
His brows furrowed ever so slightly. “And what would you have said?”
“The same thing I’m going to say now . . . that you are the single best thing that has ever happened to me. I would have said that I want you in my life. That I’m falling in love with you.” The last sentence ended on a soft, aching whisper of sound.
“Back in the hospital, I was falling in love with you, too,” he said gruffly.
“And now?” Her fingers twisted anxiously in front of her as hope and fears clashed inside of her.
“I fucking fell all the way. So hard I’m sure I’ve got bruises.”
A slow, sexy smile eased across his face, pouri
ng relief and emotion through every part of her, and she threw herself into his arms. He caught her, holding on tight and making her feel so safe and secure.
“I never thought I’d feel this way again, but you mean everything to me, Just Elle,” he said, burying his face into her hair and speaking into her ear. “I want to love you and protect you and be there for you through everything you still have to endure with Helena . . . Will you let me be that person?”
Tears and smiles hit her at once as she nodded joyfully, her cheek rubbing against his. “Yes.”
He pulled back and looked into her eyes. “I know there is so much going on right now, and we can take things between us as slowly as you need to. I just need to know that you’re mine. Every day and every night.”
“I am yours,” she said breathlessly as she framed his gorgeous face between her hands. “I have been since the moment you escorted me into the fairy-tale ball.”
A smile tugged at his lips. “My Cinderella with her crystal slipper,” he teased.
“My Prince Charming who swept me off my feet,” she said just as playfully.
His grin widened. “Like this?”
She squealed as Hunter suddenly and unexpectedly swung her up into his arms. “What are you doing?”
“I just swept you off your feet. Again,” he told her, looking as happy as she felt deep inside. “And now I’m going to take you to the bedroom and do all those wicked, dirty things to you that make you beg and moan.”
She sighed, her body already melting in anticipation. “Oh, yes, please.”
And he did exactly that.
Four weeks later . . .
* * *
Hunter glanced impatiently at the time on his cell phone, counting down the minutes until Elle would be home. Yes, home. Once his residence, now their home. Together. Instead of her getting an apartment of her own, he’d persuaded her to move in with him, which hadn’t been all that difficult. Promises of chocolate, back rubs, and regular orgasms had sealed the deal. So far, he’d kept up his end of the bargain, thus keeping Elle in a state of euphoric bliss.
Today, however, he wasn’t sure that any of those bribes would be enough to lift her bittersweet mood. After weeks of lawyer discussions and back-and-forth paperwork between Elle’s attorney and Helena’s, everything had finally been signed off and transferred over to Elle. The house. The business. The money. Her relationship with Helena and Gwen was completely severed, and while most people would be gleefully happy to be rid of their evil stepmother, his soft-hearted Elle couldn’t bring herself to celebrate what should have been a fist-pumping victory.
As for Hunter, he’d been waiting impatiently for this day to be over, because it marked a new beginning for him and Elle. One that wasn’t overshadowed by Helena still being a part of their lives. Now, officially, there was no reason for Elle to ever have to see her again . . . and from this day forward, Hunter intended to give Elle every reason to smile, laugh, and embrace the happiness she deserved.
He heard the elevator out in the other room ping with Elle’s arrival, then her high-heeled shoes clicking on the floor as they headed toward his office. A few seconds later, she appeared in the doorway, looking tired but so beautiful that his heart did a crazy little flip-flop in his chest at the realization that this gorgeous woman was his.
“Hi,” she said, smiling at him, as if he was all she needed to make her day brighter. It made him feel like a fucking king.
He leaned back in his chair as he watched her walk around his desk to him. “Rough day, sweetheart?”