AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She squeezed me through the fabric, rubbing and stroking until I was ready to come right then and there.
“No one has to know.”
I let out a ragged breath, stilling my hips as they bucked against her hand. Then I caught it, holding it in place against me while I fought for the willpower I needed tostop. To deny myself the release I craved.
I grasped her hand and removed it. “Not now.”
She tried to speak, but I cut her off before she had a chance.
“No. Fucking no, Kaylie!”
I pushed past Marc, flew down the short steps from the wooden porch and ran. Tears clouded my vision, but I refused to cry in front ofhim. The man had no feelings. No empathy. My feet flew over the uneven ground, sending pebbles racing me down the rocky path. I stopped when I reached the shoreline. Gasping for air while my heart pumped blood through my body in quick bursts. The pulse hammered in my ears despite the medicine meant to keep it down.
Was this it? Had I pushed it too far? More than my body could handle. I should have known kissing him was bound to kill me. But not until tasting his full lips did I truly realize what I missed out on. What I’d never have. The thought of knowing what I could’ve had if I’d been normal broke me.
Shoving a hand into my pocket, I gripped the medicine box and yanked it out. The brief pause as my mind caught up with my heart made me hesitate. Then I threw it as a scream tore from my throat. It sailed through the air, landing in the dark water with a splash before sinking. I was balancing on the edge of life, and I never knew when it would be over. I’d die before having a chance to live anyway, so why prolong it?
The tears I held back burst from my eyes as I sunk to the ground.
Strong arms circled me, pulling me to my feet and crushing me against a hard chest. “Don’t cry.”
His words had the opposite effect.
“Kaylie.” His voice was thick. “You don’t know how much I want you.”
I pushed away from him, staring up at him through eyes wet with tears. Moonlight sharpened his features, giving him an edgy, haunted look that made my knees weaker. His eyes were fixed on me. Those piercing irises glinted like steel in the moonlit night. My own desire reflected in them. The same longing. The need to touch me as I wanted to touch him. “Then why—”
He tore his gaze off me, looking past me to the rolling waves that wetted my shoes as I balanced on the slippery rocks.
“You deserve better than a fucking one-nighter. I can’t do that to you.”
A sob-mixed scoff escaped me. He didn’t understand. It might be all I had. I didn’t have time to wait. I never thought I’d find someone worth giving my body too. I never thought I’dwantto. What was the point when I’d never have a normal life? Marriage. Kids. A future. It wasn’t in my cards. I was fine with reading about that stuff. Got by on daydreaming and reading romance novels that kept me hot at night.
I wasfine.
Until Marc…
“Kaylie.”
I blinked back tears. “You make me want to live!” I cried. “You make me—” my voice broke into a sob.
“How’s that bad?” He reached for me, and I sidestepped, getting out of the water and away from him.
“You don’t understand.”
“No,” his voice hardened. “I don’t understand. You’re not telling me anything. What’s wrong with you? What are those pills?” He drew nearer, grasping my upper arms and held me still. “What are you hiding?” He shook me, almost shouting the next words. “Don’t lie to me!”
The words flew from my lips before I could stop them. “I’m going to die!”
His grip loosened, and I repeated, speaking with my eyes cast to the ground. “I’m sick. I’m dying.”
The relief almost brought me to my knees. The secret was out. The heavy weight on my shoulders, gone. But amid relief was something so much darker. Regret. Fear. Saying it out loud made it real. I didn’t have a future. Without the medicine my father prescribed me, the end was nearer than I dared to think of.
I lifted my gaze to Marc’s, seeing my own pain reflect in his gray eyes. He knew as well as I did that this changed everything.
“Marc?” I whispered.
His hands fell away.
