Page 45 of Fall Before Her Throne

Her face burrowed deeper into my chest. “I know you watched on the cameras.”

I smirked. “I only saw, but I didn’t hear what you said.”

She sighed, and her breath tickled the skin of my collarbone. Her arms wrapped around my waist. “Exactly what you’d expect. He took his metaphorical knife and shoved it into my heart, and whenever I asked him why he’s doing this, he twisted the blade.”

“That feels a little dramatic.”

“I know.” Moisture gathered at the corners of her eyes. “I’m not crazy, right? I feel like he has feelings for me, but then he refuses to acknowledge them. It’s like he’s actively trying to push me away.”

From the moment we rescued them both from the Albanian boat, things had changed. Every time we ran into Max, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. When we heard about how he’d protected her, tried to shield her from what happened on that boat, and then comforted her afterwards, I’d believed he had feelings for her. His mouth said one thing, but his actions told another story entirely.

“You’re not crazy.” I cupped her cheeks. “He cares for you, but I don’t know if that’s enough for him to fight his own demons.”

“What do you mean?”

“Something is fucked inside his head, something making him hold back. Unless he figures out how to confront that, he won’t be able to move past it.” I kissed her lips softly. “We all had hangups when we first met, and you’ve made all of us face the root of our issues. Me, especially.”

She showed me that I could love and be loved in return. That I didn’t need my skills to prove my worth. She and Wynn loved me—all of our family loved me—because of who I was. She’d done that for all of us. She’d made us all change for the better.

“You’re saying it’s not me, it’s him.”

My thumb brushed over her scar, down her neck, to her collarbone. “Yes.”

“But I wish I could just help him.”

“You can’t. He has to figure it out on his own, or he won’t.”

She tucked her head against my chest again. Her breath tickled my bare skin. “You’re the most level-headed one of us all, Ciel. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Wynn came out of the bathroom, rubbing a towel on his head. He paused when he saw her wrapped in my arms, and then his eyes narrowed and flicked toward the door. I shook my head, signaling no, do not go kill Max. He exhaled a breath before he came behind her and pressed his chest to her back. His arms circled her waist from behind.

“Darling,” he whispered. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I love you guys. So much.”

“We love you too, darling girl,” Wynn said. He kissed the back of her neck. While one of his arms tightened around her waist, the other reached for me. My heart swelled again at the change in our relationship. Ever since we’d been together, we hadn’t slept without each other. Waking up with his body next to mine made me actually like mornings.

“What do you need?” My fingers teased through the soft strands of her hair and rubbed the back of her neck. “Can we take your mind off it? Wynn and I are very good at that.”

Her little laugh was like bells ringing in my ears. “Yes, you are. But I don’t want you to feel like I just ran in here because he rejected me. That I’m using you.”

“We don’t feel like that,” I said softly. “But when our girl’s heart hurts, it’s our job to help fix it.”

A knock at the door primed all our defenses, but when Cas’s head poked in, we exhaled a relieved breath.

“I thought I might find you here.” His eyes were full of concern, especially when he saw how Wynn and I crowded her. “Can I come in?”

She nodded, and he slipped inside before closing the door.

“You okay, princess?”

“Yeah, I just…” She sighed, twisting in my arms so her back pressed against my chest. “An idiot just pissed me off, but I honestly shouldn’t be surprised. It’s not a big deal.”

“It is a big—” Cas started.

She shook her head hard and fast. “No. I’m not wasting any more tears on him.”

Cas crowded close and kissed her shoulder. “I’ll beat him up for you.”