Page 99 of Corrupt Me

Blake purses his lips. “She looked at you conflicted.”

“Of course, she would want us gone so she can get busy with her own mission,” Abi sighs.

“Probably, but can you fault her? Her entire goal is to keep us safe,” Mia adds.

“Yeah, but she was chatty today. And that’s unusual,” Dane notes.

“I think it’s because of this,” I say, pressing play.

Silence crashes down as they listen to the recording.

“And Cassandra told me she needs to talk to me,” I add.

“It was your mother who helped them,” Kaden says, pacing around, brows bunched together in deep thought.

“Why the sudden marriage though?” Hunter asks, leaning against my desk with crossed arms.

There are just too many unanswered questions.

“We’ll find out soon enough,” Celine says.

Of that, I am pretty sure.

The moment our friends leave, Hunter curses. “Fuck. Fucking shit.”

I stand up and lift on my toes, locking my arms around his neck. “We’re not in the dark this time. We’re ahead of them.”

“There are too many variables. I hate these bloody secrets and corrupt legacy.”

I don’t want to talk about that any longer. I just want to forget for a while.

“You know how you make me feel?”

That piques his interest because he arches a brow.

“Like it’s a dream, and I am terrified to wake up.”

His features soften. “It isn’t, Bailey. We lost enough time as it is.”

I tilt my head, smiling. “It was foreplay.”

He places a soft kiss on the tip of my nose, brushes his nose against my cheek, and inhales me. “You had me with that sass. I hated when you ignored me.”

“Entirely your fault.”

“I bring out the worst in you.”

“Nope,” I say, popping the “P.” “You saw me for who I was and pummeled at those walls until I freed myself.”

“Fuck, kitten…” His thumbs caress along my cheek. “One more fight and afterward, we’ll finally win the war. I promise you’ll never want to dream again because I’ll make our reality so much better.”

“Promise?”

“I vow. Because I am yours.”

“Then let me have all of you, even the darkest parts. Let me know you like no one ever has or ever will.”

His sharp features melt with vulnerability. “I could not survive you looking at me differently.”