Page 73 of Corrupt Me

Silence has always been a peaceful companion. I enjoyed it because I knew what to expect. Steady and loyal. Among my friends, I am the quiet one, but when it comes to Hunter, I can’t keep silent if my life depended on it, and coupled with being honest, it’s a recipe for disaster.

“What’s going on in that busy brain of yours?” he asks, digging a finger into my temple.

“How I am a mess when it comes to you.”

“If it’s any consolation, I am no better.”

Then why aren’t we trying to figure this out? But knowing him, he would just reject me. That’s something I don’t want a repeat of.

“Do you miss London?” I ask, wanting to know everything about him, to peel back every layer until I find out what goes on in his troubled mind.

“Bloody no. All I wanted was to get away from there.”

“Would you call Greenville your home now?”

“I guess, but I am bound to people, not places.”

He’s loyal like that. It’s the same for me, yet I would love to have a place to call mine—my home.

“Have you ever been in love?” I ask, chewing on my lower lip, unable to take my question back. While I want to know the answer, I don’t either. The contradiction is nothing new. My feelings for him are just like him—a conundrum. If he says yes, my jealousy will eat me whole, but the other side of me wants him to have experienced that. Call it instinct, but I think Hunter has been in pain for a long time. While I haven’t experienced the healing aspects of love, I have witnessed it happening around me.

“No. I don’t intend to either.” He says that like a statement. He’s so sure that I can’t help but smile.

“I don’t think love operates on what you want or not.”

His jaw clenches, his features tightening. “Have you been in love?”

“No. But if you asked me a few years ago, I would have said, ‘No, thank you.’ Now, though, I would like to experience it.”

“Love comes with heartbreak.”

“Is that the universal rule? Maybe love makes you acutely aware of the cost of losing it.”

“Death.”

He’s so anti-love—he’s the love Grinch.

“True. No one can change that, but you could live first. Love is a part of enjoying a fulfilled life—or so I’ve heard.”

His brows furrow, appearing deep in thought. “You have an answer for everything, don’t you?”

“You could contradict me. You usually do.”

“That would make me breach a dangerous territory.”

All the peace evaporates, swallowed by red-hot exasperation. I am the dangerous territory. When he’s a minefield, I lose pieces of my heart with every step.

“Not my fault you can’t control yourself around me.”

“Yeah, you’re my perdition, aren’t you?”

I gasp, fully offended but more hurt that he believes that.

I’m about to give him a piece of my mind when I notice the change in him. His stance turns predatory. Chest heaving and jaw set in a hard line, his silver eyes darken as he watches me.

“You always do that, knowing full well what the fuck you’re doing to me. Tell me, Bailey, do I give you the impression that I am a saint? That I could keep myself restrained when you flaunt your perfection around me, urging me to take a bite? But it’s never enough—it’s damn addictive.” He takes a step toward me, and even without him touching me, I feel trapped, like there’s no way to escape.

“What are you doing?” I ask, stepping back but holding my ground. That one second it takes for him to answer is full of tension. I have trouble breathing.

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