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His hands cup my waist and he pulls back, his lips parted and his eyes searching mine for something to hold on to.
I caress his cheek and nod softly. “You won’t hurt me.”
Twenty-Two
Hansley
You won’t hurt me.
She doesn’t know that.
That’s hope talking.
It’s not based in reality.
This exquisite creature in my arms deserves more than I can give. Than I have the ability to give.
“You don’t know what you’re asking for,” I whisper. “You have no idea.”
Asia’s dark eyes fix on me.
They’re seeing something that isn’t there.
Some better version of myself that I wish I was.
That I suddenly want to be.
And that’s because of her.
It’s her.
It’s this woman right here that’s changing my mind.
But the fact that I want to be the man she deserves raises the stakes even higher. She’s different. More. In a class all her own. And giving her everything she expects means changing, means proving that she’s my priority.
I’m willing to make that choice.
But if I fail… what does that say?
What does that mean?
You ruin everything. Just like him.
Those words defined me for so long. I never gave myself the chance to confirm them. Never offered anyone as a sacrifice to test if my birth mother’s prediction was true.
I couldn’t do that to Shar.
And I refuse to do that to Asia.
I don’t need confirmation. Evidence that I’m a screw-up.
Just like my birth father.
I’m already fractured enough.
Caring about someone this much will only lead to disaster.
For us both.
