Ella Holden POV
Even with the storm raging around us and our fight tearing the night apart, I couldn’t shut out the sound of his heartbeat. It was wild, reckless, louder after he had confessed his love in the middle of his anger.
My lips parted, my mouth opened slowly, and a flood of emotions rushed through me, tangled and overwhelming. He loves me. And somehow that only made my chest tighter, not calmer.
“Speak, Ella!”
His deep, commanding voice pulled me out of my daze. My lashes trembled under the weight of his fury. I stared at him, lost, barely processing the words I had just heard from him.
“Was that a confession, Marcus? I didn’t imagine it, did I?”
His eyes traveled down my soaked body, his jaw tense.
“My feelings aren’t a joke, little one.”
I shook my head hard.
“That’s n
