“NO!” Malcolm bellowed in denial, causing her to flinch and draw in on herself as she regarded him cautiously.
He reached for her hands and sandwiched them between his, feeling her slight tremble as she stared at him with huge, questioning eyes.
“That’s not what I meant,” he clarified. “What I meant, is that I should never have kept you a secret,” he said savagely. “I should never have tried to downplay your importance to me.”
She c****d her head to the side, her expression growing even more confused.
“But you just said that if anyone had known that, I would have been used to hurt you.”
His jaw clamped down hard as he stared fiercely at her. “I am MALCOLM f*****g POWERS! But for a moment, I was so caught up in exploring things with you, I forgot that. No. I should never have hidden yo
