Page 97 of Axis of Fire

Then it was better not to risk it.

Those had been my thoughts until I met Kai.

But after him, they returned with terrifying speed.

The smiling blond who knew exactly how to make a girl feel special—how to melt her in his hands.

He listened.

He understood.

He never belittled my feelings.

Someone who warmed instead of burned.

Most girls fall for bad boys.

I fell for someone good.

And he hurt me in ways bad boys never could.

“...Sorry.”

Airis’s rough voice startled me enough to make me flinch.

“I don’t know why,” he admitted quietly, “but whenever we end up sharing a bed, I realize I handled things with you the wrong way.”

“And I don’t know why you’re so good at finding my weak spots,” I replied, still turned away from him, my fingers gripping the edge of the blanket.

“My best friend, Tarven, calls it my curse.”

A small smile tugged at my lips before I could stop it.

“He’s right,” I murmured softly.

“At least it makes you uncomfortable when you realize you’ve reopened someone’s wounds. That’s not the worst thing in the world.”

“Were your relationships difficult?”

I swallowed, wetting my dry lips.

“No. They were wonderful.”

And that only made it hurt more.

“I don’t understand then...”

“That’s exactly why endings hurt so much.”

Kai hadn’t been simple.

Yes, I’d fallen in love with him, and love had made him seem a hundred times more valuable and beautiful to me.

But even without it...

He’d still been good.

And I truly thought he fit me.