He made a sound in the back of his throat. “Did you think I’d leave you?”
I shuddered.
“I heard you,” he said, and then he tried to sit up.
“Don’t,” I said, my eyes going wide.
He made that sound again, this time more frustrated. “I heard you out in the yard. I wouldn’t leave you, Kat. I’d never do that. Now . . . get down here and kiss me.”
“But you . . . you took a bullet for me, Daemon.” My breath hitched in my throat again. “She was going to shoot me and you . . . you could’ve died. I thought you had died.”
A moment passed as he stared at me like I’d grown two heads. “What else would I’ve done?”
Now I gaped at him through fresh tears.
“I love you,” he said, his eyes incredibly bright as he spoke those words. “If your life is in danger, I’m going to do everything I can to make sure you’re safe. That’s what love makes you do. Right?”
“Right,” I whispered, still stunned somewhat. He spoke as if it wasn’t a big deal.
“I’d do it again.”
Oh God. “Daemon, I . . . thank you.”
He frowned. “You don’t need to thank me.”
“I do.”
The corner of his lips tipped up. “Okay. Thank me by getting down here and kissing me.”
I did just that. I lowered my mouth to his and kissed him softly, reveling in his taste and the warmth of his lips. “I love you so very much, and I’m going to spend every waking moment proving it to you.”
“I like the sound of that.” He tugged on my hair as I lifted my head. “Where . . . are we?”
I gave him the quick version of what Dee had told me. “They’re not sure how you survived.” I sniffled, using my shoulder to wipe the tears off my cheek. “But you’re so stubborn.”
Daemon coughed out a dry laugh and the grip on my hand tightened. “You know how I love a challenge.”
My heart lurched as I remembered those words from the day we’d learned we were connected, and I’d shot him down when he suggested we should get together. I leaned over him, brushing my lips across his forehead. I closed my eyes, sent up as many thank-yous as I could to every God and deity and prophet I knew. “So do I, Daemon. So do I.”