“She’s gonna take him down.”
“Good.”
He pauses. Scrutinizes me. “What game are you playing, Sebastian?”
“A dangerous one.”
Surprise flashes in those bi-colored eyes. They narrow to slits. “We’re not doing this again.”
“Doing what, baby?” I murmur, encroaching on him.
His nostrils flare. “You don’t get to take what you want and leave me with nothing.”
My finger skims his arm. Shaved and so fucking soft.
“Then let me keep you.”
“And be your dirty little secret?” he hisses. “No, thanks.”
“I never said you’d be a secret.”
The air around us pulses violently. He’s seconds from snapping. I welcome his attack. Crave it. But he stubbornly keeps his vicious mouth shut. I advance. He steps back. Again and again and again, until he’s backed against the wall. I brace an arm over him as I crowd his space.
A faint whiff of Andrea’s cherry perfume fills my nose. My eyes roll back. Her scent on him isdivine.
“This is your fault, you know,” I murmur, tracing the sharp line of his jaw. “This obsession. Thisneedfor you. You’re the one who seduced me. You’re the one who opened my eyes and made mefeel. These are the consequences ofyouractions.”
He’s trembling in a mixture of rage and desire.
“If that were true, you would’ve come for me.”
“And bring you back into the same mess that could break you all over again? No. You fought too hard to get control of your mind. I wasn’t gonna risk that because I selfishly wanted you home before you were ready.”
The war waging in him plays out on his face. He desperately clings to anger, but I see it— a sliver peeking through of this all-consuming emotion that he’s reluctant to accept and I’ve already surrendered to.
“I knew you could do it. Every update Declan gave me provedit too. I’m so fucking proud of you, Cade. Beyond that. I’m in awe of you.”
“Empty words,” he snarls.
Smiling, I sigh, “God, I love your bite. Your fire. Your fight.”
He turns his face away. “You don’t deserve me.”
I lean into the crook of his neck, grazing the mark I left.“I don’t. But I won’t stop. I’llneverstop. You own me as much as I own you.”
His breath hitches. “Stop.”
“Stop what?”
“Saying shit like that,” he whispers.
I’m getting to him. I smile into his skin before peeling away to hold his gaze. “I can’t help it. You woke me up, baby.”
He squeezes his eyes shut. His head knocks against the wall.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have.”
It’s so quiet. Like a prayer not meant for my ears.
