Chapter 10

Ispent an entire week in the hospital. They wouldn"t let me leave because someone told them I would go right back to work if they did. I don"t know if it was my employers or Cassie but they were right. Now that I"m discharged I"ve got to get up to date with what is happening at the club. I"ve also got to talk to Cassie.

Her family came to see me often during my stay at the hospital, but yesterday, the entire group filled my private room and told me in clear and concise words that I was to stay away from Cassandra Dalton. I completely agree with them. I think Cassie needs to figure out what she wants to do in her life and then go live it.

I feel my phone vibrate, and I check it. Cassie has sent me a message.

Cassie: Where are you? I want to see for myself you"re ready to go back to work

Me: I"m at my house

Cassie: So send me the address

I hesitate for a minute. I don"t know if I want Cassie here with me. Things might get complicated, but I can"t just ask her to meet at some random public place to tell her we"re over. So I give in, send her my location, and start pacing in my living room. A part of me wishes I could make a life together with Cassie. I can see her here in my space, raising a family together.

Messages from work come in, but it"s nothing I can"t take care of from here. So I open my laptop and start sending emails and doing all the boring admin work that I have to catch up on. Before I know it, Cassie is knocking on my door. I know what I have to do, but I"m reluctant to break her heart. I open the door and let her in. I don"t look her in the eyes, coward that I am.

"This place is great. A little austere, but it suits you. Hope you don"t mind me making changes."

She turns to me, smiling. She grabs my hand and looks up at me, waiting for a kiss. I give her a chaste kiss on the lips and pull her toward the sofa. We sit down, and she"s immediately pulling on my t-shirt.

"What are you doing?"

"I want to check on your wound. See how it"s healing."

"Maybe later, okay?"

"Sure." She reads my face. "What"s going on? I thought you"d be more psyched about being let free. Are you feeling okay?"

"I"m glad. And yes, I'm okay. But I need to talk to you about something."

She smiles and starts bouncing on the cushion next to me.

"Yay, is this about when I can move in? Cause I can be packed in one hour, tops."

"Cassie…"

"You…you don"t want me here?"

"I"m no good for you."

"Wait. Do you want me here or not?"

"I lead a complicated life."

"Answer my question, Jason."

Her demeanor has changed to a hostile one, and if I thought the rest of the Lee family was a little bit scary, this woman is showing me what scary really looks like.

"I want you here."

"Then why are you pushing me away?"

I stay silent. I"m not about to throw her family under the bus.

"Right." She nods and frowns. "This has the Lee family all over it. Jason, we"re good together. I want to make a life with you. I lo…"

"Don"t." I hold up my hand. "Don"t say it. I agree with your family. What could I possibly give you?"

"Well, let"s see. Happiness, a comfortable life, passion, love, children."

She keeps counting off on one hand and is about to start on the next.

"Danger, uncertainty, loss," I say.

"Are you still taking jobs as a mercenary?"

"No."

"Have you cut ties with those people?"

"Not completely."

"Are you willing to do it? I mean, you don"t need the money anymore, do you?"

"I am willing and I don"t need more money, no."

"Then what"s the problem?"

"I"m not a good man."

"I think you"re the best man I know, besides my father, that is."

"You make it sound so easy."

"It"s because once you make the decision, it is. Jason…"

She reaches for my hand again, but instead, I pull her onto my lap, being careful with her cast and my own wound.

"Jason, I"ve loved you from afar for the longest time, but the time we spent together the past few months, I got to know another side of you, and that"s when I realized I had only been infatuated. But now, I"m in love—completely. With you."

Her eyes are lit up like little stars, revealing the truth of her words. Hearing them makes my heart skip a beat, and all I can do is confess my feelings, too.

"I love you too, Cassie. You are sweet and kind but also strong and resilient. You dealt with your attack better than anyone I"ve ever seen, and I"ve worked with professionals who have gone through similar or worse than what you did."

She lays her head on my shoulder as if my words are soothing to her. I want to hold her like this forever.

"Tell me again." She says.

"I love you."

"Again."

"I. LOVE. YOU."

She smiles wickedly, and I know she"s teasing me. I lower my head and kiss her on the lips deeply. At first, I go slow, but then she teases me with her tongue, and I get a little wild, ravaging her mouth. We kiss for the longest time and then just stay holding one another. This, between us, is heaven, and I never want to go back to earth.

"Move in with me, Cassie. But I have one condition."

"And that is?"

"You tell your family we"re moving in together. They"re scary, especially when they form a pack."

"You"re not scared of anything."

"I was scared before."

"Of what?"

"Of having to live my life without you. You are everything to me, Cassie."

"Then let"s thank the universe that I"m also stubborn as all heck."

"Amen to that."