Page 116 of Love Me

“You have more in common than you think. He’s so angry and lost, and I could relate to that too.”

“Way to make me feel better.”

Jealousy sparks in his eyes, but I go with the truth. “He’s important to me, and I love him. Not like I love you. I could never love anyone like I love you.”

“Then how do you love him?”

“A sibling and a friend. Stop being jealous. Abigail is your friend too.”

“Only friends. But you’re the best of my friends.”

“So you never wanted to kiss her?”

“Never.” His voice brooks no argument.

It shouldn’t please me after all his confessions, but it does.

“What about you?”

I tap my finger against my lips, pretending to ponder my answer. “Let me think.”

I goad him, loving this slightly unhinged side of him. The dangerous energy he emanates does funny things to my insides.

One second he’s side-eyeing me, a glint in his blue orbs. The next, he flips me on my back and lands on top of me.

“What’s the only acceptable answer, Sky?”

“Never.”

My entire body is hyperaware of him. Goose bumps cover my skin. My chest rises and falls wildly with anticipation.

“Good, because you’re only ever fucking mine.”

Playfulness and something dark mingle, creating an exquisite painting of male handsomeness.

After a few beats of silence, he says, “I was gonna come for you. I mean, that was my plan. But with every year, I turned more angry, and keeping it bottled up always came with me thinking I wouldn’t live to do that. Strangely, I made a will at eighteen. Quite macabre, don’t you think? But I wanted you to know my heart belongs to you.”

“Was it that bad?”

The stiffening of his body is evidence enough.

“They’re heartless, Celine, and have zero remorse. They go as far as killing if needed. The Prescotts were cut off because they dared to question the status quo. The debris left from their house is a reminder to obey and play by the Family’s archaic rules.”

“Even so, how can a mother want her own child dead?”

“That doesn’t add up. You endured Grandmother’s resentment, but that’s because she faults you for the accident.”

“I don’t remember anything from that day.”

“You were five.”

“Still, some images would have come up eventually, right? I couldn’t have distracted my parents to cause that accident. The roads were almost empty.”

My head throbs and I caress my temples. Kaden freezes next to me.

“Celine, you never remembered anything whenever I asked you about that day.”

I blink at him, shooting up on my ass. My heartbeats turn frantic as I force my brain to come up with more, but there is nothing.

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