“I still brought this into your life.”
“And you want me to blame you?”
I glowered and looked away.
“Hey.” She tugged on my arm again. “Do you want Thane to blame Regan for Austin assaulting me and hurting the kids?”
“Of course not.”
“Or Arro to blame Mac because someone tried to shoot her?”
I looked over at Mac who still, quite rightly, appeared pissed off at the mention of his past coming back from Glasgow to take revenge on him with Arro getting caught in the crossfire. “You know I don’t.”
“So, why on earth would you think I’d blame you for this? Arran, this family has attracted some crazy people—”
Lachlan snorted unhappily, and I smirked at the understatement.
“We could have our own show. And I’m including myself in it because I have an ugly past too. Baggage. Everyone comes into a relationship with it. I will never blame you for what happened today. It was Maranda’s fault, and I pretty much hate her for bringing this all back up for you when I’ve been trying so hard to make you see that what happened with Colin was just a terrible accident.”
“I love you,” I blurted out unexpectedly.
Her fingers tensed around my arm as her eyes widened at the pronouncement.
Fuck.
I huffed. “And I blew that too. I didn’t exactly plan to say that for the first time with my brother and brother-in-law standing at our backs.”
Despite the throat clearing behind us, I didn’t dare look away from Eredine.
Her eyes welled, and a smile prodded at her full mouth. “Does that mean no more running away from me for my own good?”
I moved closer. “I promise. I’m sorry for doing that to you in the first place.”
Ery grinned that beautiful, knee-weakening smile. “I love you too.”
“Thank fuck for that,” Lachlan muttered.
“Aye, that could have been awkward,” Mac said.
While Eredine giggled, I looked over at my brothers. “Do you two mind?”
“Leaving.” Mac grabbed Lachlan, who was watching me like a proud bloody father. “We’ll let you know when we hear more about Maranda.”
The door had barely closed behind them when I pulled Eredine toward me to kiss her until we were both panting. “I love you,” I repeated against her lips.
“I love you too. So much.”
I groaned into another kiss as her words filled an empty place inside me I hadn’t even known existed until then. Feeling her fingers slip under my T-shirt, I reluctantly curled my hand around her wrist to stop her. Breaking the kiss, I leaned my forehead against hers to compose myself. The combination of adrenaline and Ery reciprocating my sentiments had made me harder than I’d ever been. “Fuck. We can’t. You need to rest.”
“But—”
“Please.” I stroked her cheek. “Tomorrow. We can wait until then.”
“I hate waiting for you.” She pouted uncharacteristically, and fuck if it wasn’t adorable. “I feel like I’ve been waiting my whole life for you.”
Grinning with pure joy, I nodded. “I feel the same way.”
37
EREDINE
I woke an hour before the alarm was set to go off and blinked sleepily, the vision before me clearing.
Arran lay beside me on his stomach, one arm stuffed under the pillow, the other over the top of it. Not for the first time, I noticed his long lashes, but you almost couldn’t see them because they were so fair. His features were soft in sleep, his mouth looking fuller, more tempting. My gaze stroked his angular jawline and down to the hard muscle of his biceps. His arm from the elbow was hidden by the pillow beneath his head.
Need pulsed between my legs. Not just lust or desire, but pure need.
Noting that I felt no pain in my arm this morning, I smiled. Despite Arran’s promise that we’d have sex the day after we’d finally confessed our love to each other, we hadn’t. It was day four after the attack, and because I woke every morning needing a painkiller, he’d evaded my attempts to seduce him for fear of hurting me.
But I was free of pain this morning.
I’d given another witness statement to the police, and Arran had given his. They had charged Maranda Peters with attempted murder upon her own confession, and she was undergoing a psychological evaluation. Whatever happened, I was quietly confident she wouldn’t be bothering us again.
With her incarceration, the creepy gifts had stopped, and it really felt like the dark clouds over our heads had drifted away. Relief made me buoyant.
And my hot, sexy, kind, protective boyfriend made me feel several levels of turned on.
Biting my lip to stop my wicked smile, I sat up to remove my nightie, trying not to overdo it with my arm because it still stung when I stretched it too much. Once my nightie was off, I moved closer and caressed Arran’s side. He was lying on his front, which made it difficult to slip my hand down his boxer briefs, but I was determined.