Page 82 of Fury

“Why?”

“It’s too hard.”

He presses his thumb over my tattoo. “Mine.” I shake my head slightly, and his eyes darken. “Mine,” he repeats more firmly.

“You have no idea how hard it is,” I say, allowing the tears to roll down my cheeks. “To love someone so much and be met with nothing.”

“Baby, I grew up knowing that . . . feeling all too well. But that . . . isn’t what this is.”

“Isn’t it?” I demand, taking a step back so his hands fall away. “I can’t sit here waiting for you to remember how you felt. If you even fucking felt it. I don’t know if you were serious because you left and came back another person.” His head bows, and his hands hang limply by his sides. I’m reminded again of the little boy I used to know, and it breaks my heart. “I have to put me first,” I add sadly.

“I feel different,” he mutters. “Angrier, more tired . . . impatient. But one thing that . . . hasn’t changed, Xanth, is how I feel . . . about you.” He looks me in the eye, and I hold my breath, unsure of what he’s about to say. “From the second I saw you in that . . . stupid bright trainers with your . . . sprayed hair, I loved you.” I inhale sharply. It’s the same thing he said to me before the accident. “You went to that nineties . . . party, and I spent the fucking . . . night looking out the window, wondering if you . . .were okay. Stressed some teenage fucker . . . had his hands in your pants.”

I give a watery smile. “I was jealous . . . over a girl I didn’t even know. But we went . . . on to have the best two years . . . of my life. I’d never felt so loved and needed. When . . . I left, I was more broken than I’d ever been . . . and I never felt fixed after you. Until now. And I might not remember . . . coming to the hospital and being patched up. I might . . . not remember our conversation or how I made . . . you go out for coffee. But I am one hundred percent . . . certain that I fell in love with you . . . all over again. Because I never stopped, Xanth. You have always owned my heart.”

“But you . . .” I frown. “You told Mum?—”

“You didn’t let me finish. I was about to say . . . I feel so inadequate. You look at me like I’m your lifeline . . . and all I’ve done is bring you stress and misery. Before me . . . you had a good life, just like before, and I come along and fuck it all up.”

I shake my head, closing the gap between us. “You’re wrong,” I tell him, placing my hand on his cheek. “You are my life, Reese. Without you, it’s pointless.”

He smiles. “Please stay.”

I give a small laugh. “I was all packed, ready for my dramatic exit.”

“There was no way . . . I was gonna let you leave.”

“No?”

He shakes his head and places a gentle kiss on my lips. “And if you ever . . . go off radar again, I’ll tear the . . . town up looking for you.”

“I lost track of time,” I say, smirking.

“Well, Jennie was eager . . . to play nurse.”

I laugh. “Why does she terrify you so much? You and her had a thing,” I remind him but before I can finish, he kisses me hard, holding me tightly.

“Some memories are . . . best left forgotten.”

Fury

“Unpack,”I tell her, swatting her on the backside. “I want to take you . . . out for food.”

“Really?” she asks, laughing. “That’s what you want to do right now?”

I grin, knowing exactly where her mind is at. “Donnie isn’t a threat . . . now, so I want to walk freely . . . with my woman.”

She bites her lower lip and smiles coyly. “That’s kind of cute, so I’ll keep my smutty suggestions to myself.”

I arch a brow. “Save them for . . . later.”

We go downstairs hand-in-hand. Axel looks over from where he’s got Lexi backed up against the wall. “Finally,” he says with a wink.

“You sorted it?” asks Lexi, grinning wide, and I nod. “We should celebrate.”

“Not so fast, Mouse. We’re in the middle of something,” Axel cuts in, gently gripping her throat and nipping her lower lip.

Dianna is lost in conversation with Coop, and I narrow my eyes. “Watch him,” I tell Xanthe.

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