Page 89 of V for Vindictive

It’d be weirder if it hadn’t, V.

His entire body went rigid, the muscles pulled so tight I worried they’d snap. Then the deadly Hunter pivoted and glared down at me. “What’s that, V?”

Fuck, if those eyes could kill…

“Well, I…um, love may not be the right word. But I have feelings for him. And you. I’m really confused right now,” I babbled, barely stringing two coherent sentences together, but desperate to put it out there even if I sounded like a fucking idiot.

The other Hunter stared down at me, saying nothing with his mouth, but his body was telling an epic story of the worst kind of betrayal. It tore me to pieces to see his eyes drown in an emotion he’d never show anyone else. He might be angry, but he was hurt too. It was all there in his stare.

“When you left,” I started quickly, heart in my throat and ready to make me choke on my words, “he and I…well, it doesn’t matter. I know you’re aware that we were together, and I thought I was genuinely done when you came back. But—”

“You aren’t,” he finished, his voice disturbinglysoft.

In a surprisingly vulnerable moment, Phillip ran a hand through his hair and sat back down, shoulders slumped in defeat. I’d never seen the man look so small and…broken. Every bit of his usual confidence washed away to expose the weak man beneath, and it was a heart-wrenching sadness that the usually cool Hunter hadn’t shown since he told me about Giselle.

“You don’t want to be together?”

The way he said it, not truly asking, sort of assuming, was a fucking dagger to my heart, and I rushed to say something—anything—to take away some of his pain. “It’s not that I don’t want to be together. It’s…I’m confused. I care about you both, so I don’t think it’s fair to pledge myself to anyone. Not right now.”

A long breath escaped him before his blue eyes found mine again. The raw emotion in his gaze made it hard to say anything else to him. So, I just listened as his deep, rumbling voice broke through the quiet. “I want to be angry, but I brought this on myself, V. I’ve been selfish and took you for granted. And as much as it destroys me to say it, Sloan is someone who can give you things I can’t.”

His eyes searched the space ahead, no longer looking at me. The curve of his spine as he rested his elbows on his knees and leaned forward was tough to look at. The normal Phillip would die before showing himself in such a helpless state—at the mercy of his emotions like the rest of us. It was the vision of a destroyed man, one who saw the end but ran from it, knowing he could never truly escape it. I wanted to hug him and promise him the future, but I couldn’t.

Tucking stray red hair behind my ears, I swallowed the emotion burning my throat. “Phillip, I’m…so sorry.”

He sighed again, roughly combing back the dark hair that had fallen into his face, closing his eyes in resignation, openly grieving. Then his powerful gaze was back.

“I might not like it, V, but your feelings are your own. Thing is, I want to be with you. I’ll share you if I have to, if that’s what you want. I just…” His jaw perceptibly clenched and his chest expanded. “I’ll do anything if I can be with you.” His tattooed hand wrapped around mine, and his words were firm and entreating. “Stay. I don’t care how. Just stay.”

Fuck, my heart.

“But that’s not fair—”

“Fuck fair, V. I’ve hardly been fair to you. I know it, and it fucking kills me to see that I did this to you. That I made you feel like you were trapped. So I’ll give you whatever you want. I nearly lost you once. I won’t lose you again. If that means you exploring this thing with Sloan, orfuck it, anyone else, as long as I can still be with you, I’ll do whatever it takes.” His voice boomed, causing my body to stiffen. “As long as I can have you, even if it’s just a piece, I’ll do whatever I can to make it happen.”

Too surprised to speak, I merely stared at the man in front of me, shedding his arrogance, his signature devil-may-care attitude, vulnerable heart on display, and I couldn’t deal. It was heartbreaking, but it was also the sweetest thing he’d ever done for me.

And I fell for him all over again.

Phillip came close, taking strong hold of my face, a fear I’d never seen living in his eyes before he kissed me. Our mouths merged hotly, tongues entangling, and I gasped so loud it took us both by surprise. A deep growl thundered from inside his chest, sadness morphing to lust, and then Phillip kissed me like his intention was to devour me until there was nothing left.

The way he clung to me, brought my body into his, encouraged me to come onto his lap and wrap my arms around his neck, it was as if he was afraid I was going to run. Afraid that I might say no. Afraid he was seconds from losing me. But he’d never know how perfect his words were; how they freed me from guilt and shame.

How I, too, wanted to give him what he wanted.

Chapter 34

Road to Vengeance

“Let’s talk about this,” Cassius whisper-shouted, a tattooed hand wrapped around his throat, his feet dangling above the floor with his body several feet up the wall.

Phillip’s dangerous smile suggested he’d choose violence before anytalkingcould happen, and I decided it was time to intervene. Mostly because I owed the cat-eyed bastard that much.

“Put him down,” I ordered Phillip, whose shoulders worked a vicious circle before he complied. “I made a choice, and I keep my promises. He’s an asshole, but this is on me. So we’ll retrieve this item, and then we’ll go after the Seven.”

Rubbing the offended area on his throat, Cash sucked in a grateful breath. “About that. I think this might be something you’d want to do, anyway,” he said, eyeing Phillip with nothing short of hatred.

Jo crossed her arms over her chest, one of the few who enjoyed the show, and tilted her head to the side, interest piqued. “What do you mean, prissy asshole?”

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