Page 111 of When He Defends

His right hand extended. Skimmed over her cheek. “This one is good. It’s one ofmysecrets. I have a lot of secrets, you see. And I’ve decided, well, you’re my partner, so you get to know all of them.”

She exhaled. “How many secrets do you have?”A lotwasn’t a specific number.

“Oh, tons.” Breezy. “Like…did you know I was a member of the Night Strikers MC?”

“What?”

“Yep, that’s why I didn’t sweat the scene outside of O’Sullivan’s. I knew that the Strikers were all around me. Not just the ones who came roaring up on the bikes, either. Others were hiding in the shadows of O’Sullivan’s the whole time. Some were on the rooftops of nearby buildings. Cass had my six.”

“How is an FBI agent also a former member of one of the most notorious motorcycle clubs out there?”

He winked. “Did I say that I ‘was’ a member? My bad. Probably should have said that Iama member.”

Emerson felt her eyes widen.

“But that’s really not the secret I wanted to share with you. The secret I wanted you to know, the reason I believed you from the beginning, it’s because I loved you from the beginning.”

She could feel every hard beat of her heart.

“I didn’t want you as a partner at first because I knew I would cross lines with you. It was inevitable. I looked at you, I talked to you, and I fell for you. I knew I would always want for you to be far, far more than just an associate working cases with me. I would want you to be my whole world.”

She swayed toward him. Caught herself. “What if…if I’d been wrong? About it all? What if I’d been…” Her words trailed away.

“Emerson.” A shake of his head. “I could see the truth about you every single time I looked into your eyes. You weren’t weak. You were battle scarred and soul strong.That’swhy I loved you. But I knew I couldn’t rush you. You had to tell me your secrets in your own time and in your own way.” A pause. “Just like I had to tell you mine.”

“It’s been thirty-six hours,” she whispered. Yes, she’d counted every single hour that she’d been away from him. “You didn’t…you didn’t come rushing after me.”

“No.” A shake of his head. “Because I will never try to control you. Because I know when you need your time. Your space. I want you to choose me, Emerson. A partner not just here at the Bureau, but in life. All your days—I want you to choose to be with me.”

“There is no one else I could ever want this much.” Truth. “I love you, Gray. I want to be with you forever. You understand me like no one else ever could.” He’d given her justice for her father. Stood by her. Protected her.

Loved her.

She loved him so much that it scared her.

“What do you say, sweetheart? Want to keep hunting monsters with me?”

Emerson nodded.

“Want to keep profiling, bringing those dark deeds into the light?”

Another nod.

“Want to stay with me always, marry me, maybe have us a daughter with your gorgeous eyes?”

“Yes.” She couldn’t stay away any longer. Emerson leapt at Gray. He caught her, wrapping his arms around her, and hauling her close. And it was there, in his arms, with his warmth around her, that Emerson finally realized the truth…

I am safe.

No ticking time bomb. No deadly whispers in her mind.

Gray was safety. Gray was her anchor. Gray was the man who’d fight the world for her.

He was everything she needed. There was no one she could want more.

He was her perfect partner.

Because she’d fight the world for him, too. She’d keep his secrets. She’d watch his back. She’d be a pain in the ass when he tried to get too arrogant with her, but…