Page 127 of Watched

“Promise me you won’t do this and I will.”

“It’s already in motion.”

Is this what my future will look like? Being in a constant state of panic from the moment he walks out that door each day? Can I live like that? The Westons don’t play fair; they aren’t afraid to burn the entire world to gain what they desire. How did I allow myself to fall into this position?

More broken tears fall down my cheeks when I back into the fence. I hadn’t realised I’d been retreating this entire conversation.

“Baby,” he whispers, though not with the softness the nickname I once despised usually holds or the desire attached to it. It’s hard. Sharp.

The trepidation kicks out my knees, and I fall down the fence, fisting my hair until my scalp prickles with pain. I can’t breathe. I can’t stop the hatred of tears dripping from my eyes to my bare chest. “FUCK!” I scream into the cold, absent air.

The lack of warmth hits my aching chest, and I lift my head. Rain’s figure moves out of the gate and into the woods. Him. All the hurt ravaging my soul is because of him, because I fell in love with the prick.

My heart is decimated, because all I’ve done today is imagine us in this house together. The future that could lie ahead for us. Our breakfasts beside one another at the kitchen bench. Our dinners at the dining table. Lying beside one another in bed each night. The showers we would share. The laughs. The fights. The violent beating of my heart with every moment… I want it all… I want it with him.

Pushing off the fence, I chase after him.

The gate rattles behind me as I narrow my eyes to his white shirt moving between trees. The damp ground squelches beneath my bare feet as I follow. Once the house disappears, I finally catch up to him. Failing to clear the lump in my throat, I still manage to whisper, “I love you.”

He stops, hands shaking at his sides. “Do you understand how much I hate myself for putting you in danger?” he asks with his back to me.

I take a hesitant step and nod. “I know.”

“Your mother and sisters, but I…” he trails off, voice straining. “I couldn’t do it…I couldn’t let you go. I know that makes me selfish. I thought I could fix what I’d done before he realised how much you meant to me, and I failed you in not doing so.”

The white material stretches taut across his broad shoulders as I take the final step and reach out, my chilled hand warming where I graze my fingers over the back of his hand.

The reappearing moonlight spears through the canopy above, lighting his body. My heart thrashes when I see my name tattooed down the back of his neck. His fingers tighten between mine as I raise my other hand to trace the raised ink.

“I told you I’d get it,” he whispers.

He did. I don’t know why I’d thought it was a joke. “That’s permanent,” I choke past the emotions clogging my throat.

“I hope so,” he teases.

“Let me help tomorrow.”

“No.” He spins around, his beautiful face pained and wet. “You stay in this house. Do you understand me?”

I interlace my fingers with his again, grazing my other hand over his chest. “You have a vest, right? Like a bullet-proof vest?”

“Yeah.”

“A full body one?”

He laughs softly. “That would be incredibly hard to move in, and stealth is something I require.”

Heat spreads beneath his fingers trailing up my neck to cup my cheek. Bewilderment flashes in his dark eyes as they take in every inch of my face. “Even if I’m to die tomorrow, I know that I’ve still won because you will be the last person standing.”

I shake my head. “You aren’t leaving me.”

“I won’t if I can help it,” he teases, gently stroking my cheek, the tentative movement tightening my fingers around his. “I’ll have Blade and Xander, and if there’s one person I trust indubitably, it’s Blade.” His face inches closer, breaths warming my chilled lips. “Say it again.”

“I love you.” Before he can capture my lips, I confess everything. “I love that you never make me ashamed of who I am. I love that no matter how many pieces I’ve fallen into, you gently pick up each one. Ravage my life—I can withstand everything that comes along with you, but I can’t stand the thought of a life without you. I love you, Rain.”

His lips claim mine the second the profession is proclaimed. I groan with the heat his body envelops me in as I wrap my arms around his shoulders, lacing my fingers in his hair. He hums in approval as another tear glides down my cheek.

My aching heart clenches, my hands finding the buttons of his shirt. His tongue continues assaulting mine, sending shockwaves through me as he backs me into a tree. I growl in frustration and rip his shirt open, sending buttons flying to the forest floor while frantically trying to remove it from his body. He pulls back, gasping, as my mouth moves across his cheek, teeth sinking into his jaw.