Our love is imperfect in the most perfect way. It is love done our way. Raw. Unconventional. Sexy as hell. More importantly, it is honest to the core...Or so I think.

One little, white lie shouldn't do so much damage. Yet, it changes me forever.

The worst part is that Declan whispers that sweet nothing out of protection. My safety is in the forefront of his mind, especially since there are others who'd hurt me simply to get to him. I never consider that he will be the one to cut me so deeply. But it all starts with that first prick—the night he saves my life.

***

His perilous stare deepened as his grip fastened around my waist. As maniacal thoughts passed over his eyes, his grasp tightened. That look confirmed that I wasn't the only one who wanted all the space between us eliminated.

I

could hardly breathe when his gaze fell to my lips. It left me without words. It was the very way a passing glance could leave you speechless. But Declan didn't just take a glimpse. No, he unapologetically looked me over. He

loved

me in not so many words, but I heard them all the same. I heard them with each moan that echoed in the air. I felt them as he held me gently in his arms. Even if I didn't feel the desire radiating off of him in a fury of passion, he bore that intensity in his gaze. The world around us melted away until there was only me and

him.