Page 107 of Lovely Venom

“Watching over you. Not the same thing.” I brush the hair away from her bright green eyes. “And I’m not going anywhere.”

Her gaze flicks to the inhaler on the nightstand. “Was it bad?”

I hesitate. I don’t want to scare her. Don’t want to pile fear on top of whatever the hell that was. But I also can’t lie to her.

“Yeah,” I admit, my voice low. “It was fucking bad, Raina.”

She closes her eyes for a beat. “Sorry.”

“Don’t you dare.”

Her eyes snap open. “I’m—”

“You don’t apologize for being sick, for something you can’t control.”

She swallows, her throat working. But her voice is barely there when she says, “It’s not always that bad. Ihave it under control. It’s just...stress.”

I sit down on the edge of the bed. “You don’t have to explain. But you should’ve told me.”

“I didn’t want to be—”

“Weak?” I cut her off. “You’re the strongest woman I’ve ever been with. That doesn’t mean you have to go through everything alone.”

Her fingers reach for mine. They’re cold. Small. But they grip me in an alarmingly tight hold. “I didn’t think you’d care.”

Her words crack my chest. She’s breaking my fucking heart.

“I do care,” I say, hiding the hurt. “God, I wish I didn’t. I wish I could treat you like other women I let walk away and didn’t give a flying fuck if I saw them again. But with you,I can’t. I care so much it’s unraveling me.”

She stares for a long moment. Then she whispers, “I’m unraveling, too, Connor. Because of you.”

“Christ, at least I’m not alone.” I press my lips to her forehead, her eyes, her cheeks. Gentle. Reverent. I’m grateful to get a second chance with the only woman who’s ever mattered.

No more pretending. No more keeping my distance. I feel the crack in my heart seal shut as I make this commitment to myself. Raina and I said the words we needed to say. This is all we need right now. I won’t push us into something we’re not ready for.

Then she says words that are music to my ears. “I’m hungry.”

I brush a soft kiss against her lips. “Are you up to going out for a late breakfast?”

“Out?” She swallows. “Is that safe?”

“You’re always safe with me.”

Sitting up, her color has returned, and she looks so much better. “I need to go to my apartment after we eat.”

“For what?” I stand to my full height, the muscles in my bare chest flexing, worried she wants to go home.

“For my clothes, if you’re going to keep me here.”

I smile, relaxing. “I’ll buy you new clothes.”

“My clothes are fine.”

“Says the woman in a man’s T-shirt with her riot gear crumbled into a ball on the floor of my bedroom.”

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

Raina