Page 65 of His Brutal Game

I reached for his hand. His fingers stiffened, but then his fingers laced with mine.

“If you still want a divorce,” I started in a quiet voice. Wilder bared his teeth, waiting for the rest of my sentence. I continued, “Then you’re going to have to fight me for it.”

“Shut up,” he said. He pressed his lips to mine, that deep, menacing kiss, full of unrefined lust. His tongue chaotic, unruly, fighting for dominance when I’d give it all to him in a heartbeat because that’s how we functioned. Because I wanted to give myself to him. I trusted him more than I trusted anyone else.

We broke apart. I stared into his stormy eyes. He was everything I wanted.

“I love you,” I said. A sadness flashed through Wilder’s eyes, his focus fluttering away. My heart dropped. But it wasn’t like him to commit to something like love, especially out loud. And who could blame him? He had never known love before. And he might not have realized that love was what we had now.

His eyes stayed on the ground. “This is who I am, Maisie,” he said calmly. “I was born a killer. It’s who I am. I can’t change that.”

“I wouldn’t want you to.”

Finally, he turned to me, his gray-blue eyes clearer than they had been in a long time, as if he could finally see the future we could have together.

“I can’t promise that I will keep you safe,” he said. I lowered my head, knowing that his words were true. There were no guarantees in our lives, only that we would all meet the same end. Maybe we would find the path on our own, and maybe someone would help us get there faster. Like Wilder. “But I can promise that I will do everything I can to protect you.”

And that was enough. We kissed again, my hands wrapped behind his head, tangled in his hair. My heart swelled, knowing that those werehiswords,his truth.He loved me in his own way. And this was how he said it.

For the rest of the day, he didn’t work. We were quiet, lying in each other’s arms, processing everything that had happened. And that night, as we laid in bed, right before I fell asleep, Wilder twisted, pulling me into his arms. His breathing shallowed. I closed my eyes, relaxing for the first time in a long, long time. I had no idea what tomorrow would bring, but I looked forward to it. Because tomorrow meant a life with him, someone who saw me. All of my strengths. My mistakes. And still, he wanted me.

“I’ll protect you, Maisie,” Wilder whispered. “I love you.”

I pulled his arms closer, pretending to stir in my sleep, giving him that moment to himself. Maybe one day, he’d say it to my face.

But for now, I’d hold on to this moment, where he whispered it in the dark.