Chapter 55 Breaking the Last Wall
Elena stood in the bathroom, scrubbing blood from under her fingernails.
It was derek's blood. The water ran red, swirling down the drain. She scrubbed harder, her movements sharp, angry.
He'd taken a bullet for her. Had stepped into the line of fire and almost died while she'd dug metal out of his chest on a kitchen table.
Elena slammed off the faucet, gripping the sink's edge until her knuckles went white.
This was her fault.
All of it and she was so tired. Tired of people bleeding for her, tired of being the reason everyone was in danger, tired of pretending she could handle any of this.
Angry tears burned her eyes and she wiped at them roughly, hating herself for crying, hating that she cared so much it was destroying her.
A knock on the door. "Elena, are you okay?"
Pierce's voice, low and controlled.
"I'm fine," she said, her voice tight.
"You're not."
"I said I'm fine." Her voice was sharp. "Leave me alone."
The door opened anyway.
Pierce stepped inside, closing it behind him, his eyes immediately finding hers in the mirror.
"He almost died." The words tore out of her. "He almost died protecting me and it's my fault. All of this is my fault."
"No.."
"Yes!" Elena's voice rose. "If I hadn't insisted on going to that meeting, if I'd just stayed hidden, if I'd let the company go..."
"Then you'd have lost everything your father built." Pierce's voice was firm. "And Derek knew the risks. We all did."
"That's not good enough!" Elena turned to face him, tears streaming down her face. "People keep getting hurt because of me! You got shot at the warehouse, Derek got shot today, your whole crew is in danger because I exist!"
"You saved his life," Pierce said, his grip tightening on her wrists. "Derek is alive because of you. Because you're brilliant and skilled and you didn't fall apart when it mattered."
"But he got shot..."
"And he'd do it again." Pierce pulled her closer. "We all would. Do you understand that? Every single one of us would take a bullet for you without hesitation."
"Why?" Elena tried to pull free but he held firm. "Why would you do that?"
"You know why."
"Because you love me?" Elena's voice turned sharp. "That's not good enough, Pierce. Love doesn't make this okay. It doesn't make people bleeding for me acceptable..."
"Then what would make it acceptable?" Pierce's eyes burned into hers. "What do you need to hear?"
"I need..." Elena stopped, breathing hard. "I need to stop feeling like this. Like I'm drowning and the only thing keeping me afloat is you and I hate myself for needing you when I told myself I wouldn't."
Something shifted in Pierce's expression. "You need me."
"Yes." The word came out broken. "And I'm so tired of fighting it."
"Then stop fighting." Pierce released her wrists, his hands sliding up her arms. "You can have me. You've always had me."
Something inside Elena broke, the last wall she'd been holding up, the final barrier she'd built to protect herself.
She was done protecting herself, done fighting, done pretending she was strong enough to walk away from the only person who made her feel alive.
Elena's hands came up to Pierce's face, fingers trembling. "I love you," she said, the words spilling out raw and honest. "I love you and I'm terrified and I don't know if this will work but I can't keep fighting it anymore."
Pierce's eyes darkened. "Elena...."
She kissed him. She rose up on her toes and pressed her mouth to his, pouring everything into it, the fear and the anger and the desperate need she'd been denying for weeks.
Pierce froze for half a second, then his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her flush against him. He kissed her back with the same desperation, the same need, like he'd been starving for this.
Elena's hands slid up his chest to his shoulders, then into his hair, gripping hard. Pierce groaned against her mouth, his hand leaving her hair to grip her thigh, lifting her leg around his waist.
The new angle made Elena arch into him and Pierce's grip tightened, his other hand sliding under her shirt, palm flat against her ribcage.
Heat flooded through her. She could feel his heartbeat thundering, could feel how badly he wanted this, wanted her.
Pierce's mouth left hers to trail down her jaw, her neck, finding that spot below her ear that made her gasp. His hand moved higher under her shirt, thumb brushing the underside of her bra.
Pierce's mouth found hers again, harder this time, more demanding. His hand slid higher and Elena made a sound that had him pressing closer, no space left between them.
She was drowning in him, in the taste of him, the feel of his hands on her, the way he kissed her like she was oxygen and he'd been suffocating.
Pierce's hand left her ribcage to grip her hip, holding her against him as his mouth moved from her lips to her jaw to her neck, each kiss burning.
"I love you," he breathed against her skin. "I've loved you through everything."
Elena pulled his mouth back to hers, kissing him with everything she had, all the fear and anger and desperate need she'd been holding back.
Pierce groaned, his control slipping, and lifted her onto the sink's edge. Elena's legs wrapped around his waist immediately, pulling him between them.
The kiss deepened, turned almost desperate. Pierce's hands were everywhere, her hair, her waist, her thighs, like he was trying to memorize every inch of her.
Elena's back arched as his mouth moved to her neck again, his teeth grazing her pulse point. Her fingers dug into his shoulders, holding on.
"Pierce..."
"I know." His voice was ragged. "I know."
He kissed her again, slower this time but no less intense. Elena melted into it, into him, finally letting herself feel everything she'd been denying.
When they finally broke apart, both breathing hard, Pierce's forehead rested against hers.
"Tell me you mean this," he breathed. "Tell me you're not going to push me away tomorrow."
Elena's hands framed his face, forcing him to look at her. "I mean it. I'm done fighting. I'm done pretending I can live without you."
"Promise me." His voice was rough.
"I promise." Her voice was steady despite the trembling in her hands. "I love you. And I'm choosing this. I'm choosing you."
Pierce's eyes searched hers, looking for doubt.
He found none, then he kissed her again, slow and deep. Elena's legs tightened around his waist, pulling him closer, and Pierce made a sound that went straight through her.
"What happens now?" Elena whispered against his mouth.
Pierce's hand cupped her face, his thumb brushing her swollen lips. "Now we stop pretending we don't belong to each other."
Elena nodded, her breath catching as he kissed her again, possessive and claiming and everything she'd been craving and for the first time in weeks, Elena wasn't afraid.
She was exactly where she belonged.