Page 26 of Cross the Line
“You can’t blame yourself for the choices others make—especially when they choose to hurt you. It doesn’t matter who they are. Nobody has the right to touch you without your consent. It’s inexcusable whichever way you look at it.”
“You sound like Taylor,” Eli chuckles past his teary hiccups.
His billet dad. That’s one person Eli has told me about. Someone who cares for him. Who loves him…
“Because I care about you, too.” The small smile that tugs at his lips warms through me, but I need it to be bigger. I need to see it in his eyes. “Because I love you, Eli.”
There it is.
That gorgeous, brooding smile that changes the rhythm of my heart without fail. It’s so fucking beautiful that it literally takes my breath away. And if I could just fix it to his lips for the rest of my life, I would spend the rest of my days, every second I have left in this world, telling him I love him.
Stroking my hand over his jaw, I mold it to his nape as I lean closer. Needing to feel more of him. Because if I feel him and his pain, then maybe I can bear some of the brunt of it for him. Maybe I can make it better.
I can take his fear and leave more room to give him love. To give him joy. To hold me and Finley and…
Finley.
Oh my God.
Oh my God.
“She doesn’t know.”
Eli stiffens. The smile I put on his face instantly falls, and I hate myself for it.
“Jayden,” he enunciates carefully, slowly, “Finley can never know.”
“Eli…”
“She’ll carry this for the rest of her life like it’s her sin. She’ll never forgive herself. It’ll break her beyond repair. I can’t do that to her.” His eyes lock on mine. “Can you?”
“No.”Of course not. “I can’t. But she’s going to see that story, and it will hurt her, Eli.”
My chest constricts. His hands tighten around my face.
“She has seen it.”
The pounding in my chest stutters. “And?”
“Finley knows me. She knows the article isn’t true.”
“Knowing it’s not true doesn’t mean she’s not wondering what the truth is, and?—”
“Does it feel better now that you know the truth?” His voice is quiet, edged with fear and disgust.
“No,” I whisper, sliding my hand up from his chest to his throat, bracketing it lightly.
Eli exhales, his hands falling to my shoulders. “So what difference does it make?”
“You’ve always been Fin’s, Eli. She believes she knows every inch of you. This will make her feel cheated and betrayed. One terrible thing will cast doubt over everything she believes she knows—herself, you, me. She’ll think it’s all a lie. We’ll lose her.”
Panic swells in his stare.
“Can you live without Finley?”
“No,” Eli says instantly, shaking his head.
“Neither can I.” My thumb traces the line of his jaw. “I want you, Eli. I need you. And I need her. I needus.”
