Chapter 40 Carter
Carter
She was draped over me, her cheek resting on my chest, her breath warm against my skin. My arms tightened instinctively, as if the moment I let go she might slip back into the nightmare that had almost taken her from me.
The room smelled like her—like us. Sweat, warmth, the faint sweetness of her hair tangled against my jaw. For the first time in what felt like years, the tension in my chest eased.
She shifted, propping her chin on her hand, her fingers drawing lazy patterns over one of the scars along my ribs. “You never talk about these.”
I glanced down, following the path of her touch. Old wounds, each with a story I’d buried. “Nothing worth remembering.”
Her brows knit. “That’s not true. They’re part of you.”
“Part I’d rather you never had to see.”
She leaned in, pressing a kiss to the scar, soft and lingering. “I don’t see scars. I see a man who fought like hell to survive. A man who would burn down the world to protect me.”
Her words lodged in my throat. I’d spent my life being the weapon, the shield, never the man someone looked at like that.
I swallowed hard, my hand sliding up to cup her face. “You’re too good for me, Harper.”
She smiled, small but steady. “That’s where you’re wrong. I think you’re exactly what I’ve been waiting for.”
The ache in my chest broke wide open. I’d been holding back the word for days, maybe longer, terrified that saying it out loud would make me reckless, would make her even more of a target in a world already too dark.
But looking at her now, wrapped in my arms, her body soft and trusting against mine… there was no holding it back.
“I love you,” I said, the words rough, unpolished, but truer than anything I’d ever spoken.
Her eyes filled, shimmering in the dim light. Then she kissed me, slow and sweet, her whisper trembling against my lips.
“I love you too.”
And just like that, the storm outside didn’t matter. The war ahead didn’t matter. For this one fragile, perfect moment, it was just us—two broken people who had somehow found each other and decided to hold on.