She glared at him and opened her mouth to speak.
He held up a hand. “You had your turn, now it’s mine.”
Her jaw snapped shut, but the mutinous look was still in her eye. He finally gave in to the urge to touch her, reaching out to take her free hand in his, linking their fingers together. The skin-on-skin contact reassured him that she was real and gave him the courage to say what was in his heart.
“First of all, I do love you. I meant it when I said it the first time. I love you even more now.”
The clenching in her jaw eased, the set of her mouth relaxed.
“You’re not the kind of woman I envisioned spending the rest of my life with,” he admitted. “I didn’t want to share my life with anyone. I was perfectly happy to be alone and independent, until you came along. You’re everything I never knew I wanted, and so much more.”
He watched her eyes fill with tears even as her lips curved.
“Don’t start crying,” Joel warned. “I’m not good with tears, and I’m not finished yet.”
“I’ll wait,” she promised.
“I want to be with you. For now. Forever. But only if you promise not to throw yourself in front of any more bullets. Because if you do anything that stupid again, I’ll kill you myself.”
She laughed. There were tears spilling onto her cheeks, but she was laughing. Then she was in his arms and they were kissing.
Joel savored the taste of her, relished the softness of her curves pressed against him, marveled at the way she fit so perfectly in his arms. Nothing had ever felt better than holding her, and he knew he couldn’t let her go.
He’d tried to do the right thing, he’d tried to walk away, but she’d come back to him. He’d been deceitful and dishonest—he knew he didn’t deserve her. But by some miracle he didn’t dare question, she’d fallen in love with him. And as he’d vowed that fateful day when he’d found her bound and gagged in the motel, he was going to spend every day of the rest of his life showing her how much he loved her.
He lifted her off her feet and sat her on his chair, kneeling beside her. He could feel a single bead of sweat trickle down his back as he prepared to take the biggest risk of his life. A life that was empty without Riane in it.
“I didn’t plan this,” he admitted. “I didn’t think I’d ever get a chance to do this, but you’re here and you claim to love me, so I’m going to take this chance and grab it with both hands.”
He took her hands in his and held on tight. “I don’t have a lot to offer, and I don’t make promises I can’t keep. But what I have I want to share with you. And I can promise my love and my loyalty forever.”
“That’s all I ever wanted,” Riane told him.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-8092-6
SOME KIND OF HERO
Copyright © 2003 by Brenda Harlen
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Some Kind of Hero Page 24