Page 100 of Cavern of Silence

"Are you sure you're all right?"

He sighs. "I'm kicking myself again for starting the fight last night. I kept thinking about how we would be in Bermuda by this time tomorrow, and now we can't because of my stupidity."

"Don't blame yourself. I can't go in any airport. Even with a disguise, I don't think it's going to be safe for me to travel on any plane. It'll put you in danger, too." My heart beats faster. I try to hold my emotion in at the thought of going forward without him. "Maybe it's time for us to split up as well."

"That isn't happening."

"But—"

"No, Julieta. If we have to figure out something different, we will, but we're not splitting up."

I release a breath I didn't realize I was holding.

He steps closer and cups my cheeks. His blue eyes lock on mine, and he sternly says, "We're in this together. No matter what, I won't leave you on your own. Don't suggest it again."

For years, I've been alone and abandoned by everyone who was ever close to me. Hearing him be so adamant he will stay with me, no matter what our circumstances may be, only makes my feelings for him deepen.

I lock my hands around his head and pull his lips to mine. The hollow ache that almost crippled me too many times to count has been eliminated by him. In some ways, I thought I had become numb to the pain, but I hadn't. And I realize all the emptiness and loneliness I experienced for so long is gone. So the kiss I give him isn't just to be nice. It's an expression of my gratitude and love for him. He didn't just rescue me. He brought me back to life. I thought there was nothing to live for anymore, that no one would ever care for me or want me again.

But Ryker desires me with all my imperfections and scars. He's a man of honor and courage, and someone whose word means something. And he's shown me in only a short time frame, you don't have to have a lifetime of history with someone to care about or make sacrifices for them.

"I love you," I murmur between our kisses, and he freezes.

Oh, jeez. Why did I say that?

"Sorry, I—"

His jaw clenches, and he holds my face firmly. "Don't say you love me and, in the next breath, tell me you're sorry."

My pulse beats in my neck, and I have nowhere to look, except in his eyes. I stay quiet, scared to open my mouth again, embarrassed I blurted out my feelings I haven't spent hours analyzing.

He kisses me softly, pulls back, and says, "I love you, too."

"You don't have to say it back."

"Stop doing that."

"What?"

"Trying to take it back. Questioning the feelings I reciprocate toward you."

I bite my lip.

He plants one hand on my ass, and his other hand wraps around the back of my head. He tugs my body into his. His lips are inches from mine. "I'm a forty-five-year-old man. I know I'm in love with you because I've only felt it one other time in my life, and that was with my wife. I don't know how it could happen so fast, but it has. And I see your mind spinning right now, trying to analyze this, but don't. I don't say things I don't mean." His eyes crinkle, and his lips turn up. "I think this is a happy occasion and you should kiss me again."

He loves me. He isn't just saying it.

Stop ruining the moment with your insecurities.

I forget about my anxiety and put every iota of my soul into our kiss. When he pulls back, he grins. "That's more like it." He squeezes my ass and motions for me to get in the vehicle. "We need to get going."

I sit down, he pecks me, shuts my door, and gets in the driver's seat. We drive away from the hotel and back toward Tinker's.

We're quiet for a while, the reggae music the only sound in the Jeep. He holds my hand and kisses it from time to time.

Traffic is heavy from the rush hour. It thins out after a while, and eventually, we end up on a road with not many cars.

I say, "I thought of something to add to my bucket list."