Page 77 of Reaper's Claim

“Will you calm down?”

The judgment in her eyes was clear. “You know, all I wanted to do was find you and hope that you had a good reason for doing it!” Her shoulder hit mine as she went to leave.

Typical Abby. Things get hard and she runs away.

She was halfway up the stairs when I grabbed her wrist.

“Would you let me explain?”

“Let go of my arm, Kade.” She glared over her shoulder down at me. “You’re a liar.”

“You said that you wanted a good reason?” I was about to do something stupid; I knew that. I had done a lot of stupid things. This shouldn’t be terrifying, but to me, it was.

With her back to me, I brushed the hair off her shoulder.

Lowering my mouth to her bare skin, I softly kissed her, working my way up her neck.

I knew she hated herself for not pulling away from me.

So I had to tell her the truth, and fuck if I knew how things would work after that.

Wrapping an arm around her stomach, I pulled her against me. “I did what I did, Abby, because I love you.”

Her breathing intensified. She twisted in my arms until we were face to face. Her silence was killing me.

“Say something, Abby.” I needed to know what she was thinking. Her cold expression was scaring the hell out of me. If she turned away from me right now, that would be it. I would never try again.

Lowering her forehead against mine, “You’re saying what I want to hear.”

I didn’t expect that.

“You think I’m lying?”

A hurt expression crept across her face. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”

“I’m not lying, Abby. I love you. Why else would I be here?”

“Because it is your home.”

“I don’t have a home, Abby. I don’t belong to anyone, anything. I don’t make roots. But I always come back to you.”

She had built some pretty tough walls, and she wasn’t letting me get through easily.

Bracing my shoulders, she pushed herself away from me. “I wish I could believe you.” She took a step up, away from me. “But I can’t.”

Then that is when it happened. She turned her back on me and walked away, leaving me speechless, standing on a fucking staircase looking like a complete heartbroken loser. She didn’t believe me.

I knew things were messed up. I knew I had stuffed up, but she was no innocent party in that either.

Fuck it. I wasn’t letting her just walk away from me, from this, us. So I followed her steps and found myself looking at a familiar wooden door. I would make her believe me.

I knocked once, and the door flung open, I was ready to spill my heart, but her smiling face took me by surprise.

“What took you so long?” she smirked, holding the door open. “Thought you would have already pulled my door off the hinges.”

“Was deciding if you were worth it.” I stumbled out a fake confident lie.

Chewing her bottom lip, she took a step forward, grabbing my shirt and pulling me towards her.

---