Page 105 of The Road to Ruined

"And now you sound like her, too," he says, shaking his head. "I think I'm going back to the other side of the bar now. Let me know if you need anything."

"You don't look mean to me," a voice says, taking my breath away. "You look soft…like a kitten." Fingertips trail up my spine before he sits in the seat beside me.

He's wearing a hat and his glasses, and his facial hair is starting to grow in. He moves his chair closer to mine so he can wrap his arm around my waist and props his head on his elbow.

"Declan…no," I whisper. "They're going to kill you."

"Don't you worry about that, kitten," he says. "I'll be fine. I'm not going to leave you again."

"We should get out of here," I tell him. "We should go down to the beach or somewhere dark or—"

"No, we should stay right here for now," he says. "Where it's dark, but there are a lot of people around. Don't you think that's better?"

I look around the dark cabana. It's busy and loud, and no one is paying any attention to us. "I guess…"

"You still love me?"

I nod. "Yeah. I do."

"But you're mad at me?" he asks.

I nod again, my eyes filling with tears.

"That's okay," he says. "I can work with that."

I throw my arms around him and bury my head in his neck. "I'm scared," I tell him, "for you."

Declan places a hand on the back of my neck. "Come here and kiss me," he says.

I lift my head, and he places a hand on my cheek before pressing his lips to mine, breathing me in as he kisses me deeply, moaning into my mouth when my tongue slips past his lips, sucking my top lip into his mouth before pulling away.

"Now, you don't have anything to worry about," he whispers against my lips. "If I die, I can die happy."

I shake my head, looking away.

"What?" he asks. "You know that I love you, don't you? What do I need to do?"

"Do you remember when you saved me from that security guard in Seattle?" I ask. "And you picked that eyelash from my cheek and told me to make a wish?"

He nods. "Yeah, I remember. I remember every second I've ever spent with you."

"I wished that I'd stop falling in love with you. I fought it for so long because I knew it wasn't safe—not because you were dangerous, but because you didn't need me like Luca, and you could just leave. And then you did."

"Teag—"

"You don't need me," I say again.

"Ido. I do need you, Teagan."

"You told me I was your kitten, and I was supposed to be able to curl up in your lap and not worry about anything else because you would keep me safe, but you didn't. Sebastian didn't need me, either, and he left me, too."

"I'll do better," he says. "I'm sorry about the water bottle, but I wasn't ready. I won't leave you again. I'm going to take care of you just like I promised. And I'll help you…with that itch like I promised. You don't have to scratch it."

"But what if I do?"

"Then I'll help you with that, too," he says. "I know who you are, Teagan."

"You meanwhat?"

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