AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It was sarcastic!” she yelps. “I was having a good time tonight. For the first time in forever.”
“You were not have a good time withGarrett.”
“Stop saying his name like that!”
“Like what?”
“Garrett,” she says in a ridiculous mimic of my voice. “Like he’s beneath you.”
“That’s exactly where he is,” I snarl.
Rayne shoves her hair away from her face, dragging frustrated fingers through the long strands. But when she looks up at me, the frustration has bled away. Instead, she looks pained. “You told me you didn’t want to see me, Kirill. You… You left without saying goodbye. So why are you here? Why are you doing this?”
My jaw clicks from the pressure with which I’m clenching it closed. I don’t say anything. If I open my lips, the only things that will come out will be things I’ll regret.
“Why?” she repeats. “You showed up here tonight out of the fucking blue, and now, you’re acting like you have some claim on me. Like you get to dictate how I live my life. But I can take care of myself.”
“Maybe,” I say in a deep, choked rumble. “But maybe you shouldn’t have to.”
Just like that, everything stops.
The music fades, replaced by the steady drumming of blood in my ears. The people around us wink out of existence. Rayne swoons towards me, her blue eyes a wide, soft place to land.
I do have a claim on her. Since the moment I first saw her, I wanted her. That will never change.
Rayne is mine.
As if she can hear my thoughts, Rayne blinks and then jerks away from me suddenly. She looks horrified. She waves a finger between us like it’s a burning sage stick and she’s trying to warn off a vengeful spirit.
It seems Rayne has failed to outrun her ghosts tonight, too.
“No,” she says firmly. “I’m not doing this again, Kirill. I’m over you. You and me, whatever the hell that was… we’re done.”
“You were the one who walked onto my beach yesterday. You keep asking me why, why, why. Let me ask you the same. Why were you there, Rayne? There’s a thousand miles of beach in California, but you were onmine.”
It’s her turn to lock her jaw. Her lips press together so tightly they turn white. I want to pry them apart with my tongue and taste the words backing up behind them.
I close the distance between us and grab her arm. She tries to pull away, but all it does is make my hand slide down her forearm to her hand. “Why did you walk onto my beach, Rayne? Why did you check the windows to see if they were closed?”
“I didn’t.”
I squeeze her hand harder. “Liar.”
Her expression turns fiery. I wouldn’t be surprised if smoke started pouring out of her ears.
I pull her tight against me. Her silky tank top rides up and my fingers dips to the warm skin beneath. “Answer the question, Rayne.”
“Because I’m a glutton for punishment,” she breathes. Her eyes open and she stares up at me, a new clarity in them. “Because this pain is better than the pleasure I get from anyone else. I kept walking to your beach because it hurt to remember you, but that was better than never having had you at all.”
I didn’t expect this raw confession. I’m still trying to figure out what to do with it—
When Rayne jerks out of my hold. “Which is why I have to move on. Whatever it takes.”
Suddenly, she waves an arm over her head and spins in a circle. Her entire midsection is exposed. There are silvery scars along her sides I never noticed before. It’s probably just the lighting, though. I hardly have time to think about it before she cups her hands around her mouth and calls out over the music.
“Does anyone wanna buy me a drink?” she yells. “I’m horny and looking for a rebound.”
I snort in surprise. It’s funny. Unexpected. But if she thinks it’s going to work, she’s out of her damn mind.
