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I’m shaking like a leaf when I finally manage to sit next to him. It’s so painful to breathe, I can barely take full breaths. He offers me his pocket square by dangling it in front of my face.
“Enough crying now. I barely touched you.”
When we open the door to the villa his parents gifted us, he lets me in first. He locks it behind us and helps me take my coat off.
“Go shower,” he says while he hangs it. “Oh, and Rachel?” He stops me in my tracks. I turn back to show I’m listening. “If I see you near Rose White, I promise you…Ipromiseyou, baby, I will kill you with my bare hands.”
I promise you, baby, I will kill you with my bare hands.
I promise you, baby, I will kill you with my bare hands.
Ipromiseyou, baby.
I willkillyou with my bare hands.
I repeat it, I chant it, I tattoo it on my brain. I whisper it and say it loudly…and yet, it doesn’t stop me from sneaking out of our bed at 4 a.m. and hopping in a taxi. No, if anything, it encourages me. I might be forced to stay with Conor. The weight of our families, the fear of him killing me if I try to leave…it’s heavy on my shoulders.
But I am cursed to love Rose forever. That’s what he doesn’t understand. You can’t run away when a demon possesses you. You can’t evade when you’re haunted. That’s what Rose does to me. There is no escaping. Not even the threat of death can stop me from going to her right now.
9
RACHEL
I want to– Rosenfeld
The Murrays have the same code to pass their gates as they’ve always had. I learned it by heart when we were in high school so I could come see Rose. I make my way up their long driveway that goes up a hill, and I sneak to the side of the house to reach the pool house. That’s where Rose and Jake used to live. A beautiful guest house for themselves. And there is no describing the disappointment when no one answers my knocks. I try the door…locked. They never used to lock it, though I wouldn’t blame Rose if she doesn’t feel safe anymore.
My shoulders slack when I let out a long huff. I should have asked for her number. I should have texted her so she’d expect me. Did I genuinely think after two years, we would just pick up where we left off? What if she left the party with another girl?
“Looking for someone, Sunshine?”
I spin around so fast the night sky tilts above me.
“Rose,” I sigh. Hearing the nickname she’s always used for me is like a prayer—a call for worship.
She’s sitting on a garden chair by the pool, wearing nothing but an oversized sweater. Her long bare legs are splayed in front of her, and her beautiful smile lights up the night. She slowly gets up and walks to me.
I don’t wait for her to reach me. I run and purposely fall into her arms.
And like I expected her to, she catches me. Because no matter what happens, Rose will always catch me. I know that. And no matter what happens, when she does catch me, she makes me hers.
Her lips crash onto mine before I can find my balance again, her hands slipping down my ass until she grabs the back of my thighs and pulls me up. I wrap my legs around her waist, and she walks until she’s pushing me against the wall of the pool house. I groan into her mouth when my back hits the wall.
She’s so violent, so possessive. So herself.
“My bedroom’s in the house now,” she smiles against my lips when she takes a break from devouring me.
“So, what were you doing in the backyard?” I pant. I’m so obsessed with the spark in her eyes, lighting up her whole face that I almost don’t hear her answer.
“Waiting for you.”
Confusion must be written all over my face because she brings a hand to my cheek and runs her thumb between my brows. She pushes her hips forward to keep me balanced and tight against her now that she’s holding me with one arm.
“My beautiful Sunshine, letting dark thoughts eat you up like you always do.” She doesn’t give me time to reply. She kisses me again, forcing her tongue into my mouth like she missed me. Like she missed possessing my entire body.
We barely pull away to take breaths, but between lingering kisses, I manage to slip the words that crowd my thoughts.
“You ignored me all night,” I admit with disappointment.
