His Dangerous Love On Ice Chapter 153: Olive's Pov

"You're mine, Olive Monroe." The words were possessive and dark and should've scared me but instead sent heat flooding through my veins. "You have been since the day you agreed to this arrangement. Since the day you let me touch you. Since the day you stepped into my mansion in Chicago and accepted my deal."

His hand came up to cup my face, thumb tracing my cheekbone with a gentleness that contrasted sharply with the fury still burning in his eyes.

"So if you want to end this," he said quietly, "if you want to walk away and find someone safer and easier and less complicated, then you look me in the eye right now and tell me you don't want me anymore."

My breath caught.

"Tell me you don't think about me every second of every day," he continued, his thumb moving to trace my bottom lip. "Tell me you don't ache for me the way I ache for you. Tell me that what we have means nothing and I'll walk out that door and never bother you again."

I stared up at him, my heart pounding so hard I thought it might break through my ribs.

This was it. This was my chance to end it. To choose safety over danger. To walk away from the man who'd turned my life upside down in the best and worst ways possible.

All I had to do was say the words.

I don't want you anymore.

Simple. Easy. Final.

Except they would be a lie.

The biggest lie I'd ever told.

Because I did want him. God, I wanted him so badly it scared me.

Wanted his hands on my skin and his voice in my ear and his dangerous love that burned hotter than anything I'd ever felt.

"I can't," I whispered.

His eyes darkened. "Can't what."

"Can't tell you I don't want you." The confession felt like jumping off a cliff. "Because it would be a lie."

Something fierce and triumphant flashed across his face.

"Then why," he asked, his voice rough, "did you avoid me for two weeks?"

"Because I'm scared." The words tumbled out before I could stop them. "I'm scared of how much I feel for you. I'm scared that if I let myself fall completely, you'll destroy me. Not on purpose—but because you're you. Dangerous and intense and capable of things that terrify me."

He stared at me for a long moment.

Then he did something I didn't expect.

He smiled.

Not his usual controlled smirk. Not that dangerous curve of his lips that made women weak.

A real smile. Soft and genuine and devastating.

"You think I'm capable of destroying you?" he asked quietly. "Olive, you've already destroyed me. The second you walked into my life, you tore apart every defense I'd spent years building. Made me care about something other than revenge and money and power."

His hand slid into my hair, tilting my head back further.

"So we're even," he said. "We both have the power to destroy each other. The question is—are we going to run from that? Or are we going to stop fighting it?"

I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think past the way he was looking at me.

"Tell me you want me to leave," he said. "Tell me to walk out that door and I will. But if you don't—if you let me stay—then we're done running. Done pretending. Done with whatever half-assed arrangement we thought we had."

His eyes locked on mine.

"If I stay, you're mine. Completely. No more blind dates. No more avoiding me. No more running away when things get hard."

My mouth went dry.

"Do you understand?" he asked.

I nodded, not trusting my voice.

"Say it," he demanded. "Say you understand what you're agreeing to."

"I understand," I whispered.

His hand tightened in my hair.

"And do you want me to stay?"

This was it. The point of no return.

If I said yes, everything changed. If I said no, he'd leave and I'd never see him again.

I looked into those blue eyes that had haunted me for a week.

And I made my choice.

"Yes," I breathed. "I want you to stay."

The words were barely out of my mouth before his lips crashed into mine.