Page 24 of Falling Into Forever
The rest of the world fades away, because here, we’re not broken. There’s no fear in this kiss. No, this kiss is the purest example of the love I knew existed but was too scared to fight for. With her lips on mine, a switch is flipped inside me, and everything changes.
Our kiss turns frantic, like we’re both afraid that the other will vanish if we stop. Teeth and tongues clash—mine with desperation, hers with what feels like anger and pain and lust. It’s evident in how her body trembles under my touch, but she uses her hands on my chest like she can’t decide if she wants to push me away or pull me closer. It’s a sure sign that her heart and mind are in a battle of wills.
But we both take something we’re missing from this kiss, and I savor every inch of her mouth. She tastes like citrus and mint. She tastes like sunshine and life. She tastes real.
It’s what I’ve been missing in my life—the real.
“Saylor,” I groan. Her head falls back, and I kiss a line down her neck, nipping and sucking wherever I can reach like a man possessed. And I am. She’s had a hold on me since the moment I saw her, and I’m an idiot for ever trying to live without her.
“Holy shit.” Kate laughs. She breaks our spell, and I could wring her neck.
Saylor gasps and pulls her torso away from me while unlocking her legs, forcing me to ease her to the ground.
Her wide eyes and flushed cheeks cause an image of her naked to flutter across my vision, and another groan escapes. She lets out a strange little “eep” sound.
“It’s not. We can’t. You promised,” she whispers, clutching her laptop to her chest like a shield before turning and sprinting to the house.
My heart can’t quite decide on a rhythm that works, and it’s not only because my brother’s trying to ruin me. It’s also because I just kissed a girl I thought I’d never hold again. And now I want to do it again.
And again.
Kate’s laugh grates on my last nerve.
“Fuck off, Gerard,” I snap.
Her cackle pitches higher.
“Maybe this time you’ll understand what she sacrificed when you left.” Her words leave bile sitting in the back of my throat. Kate Gerard is not someone you spill your most intimate secrets to. If Saylor told Kate anything about our past, maybe we both caused more damage than I realized.
I push past her without another word. Saylor is my priority.
* * *
I findher leaning over the vanity in the bathroom, splashing water on her face. But her shaking hands cause a lump the size of Texas to lodge in my throat.
“I’m sorry.” I keep my tone gentle, but like a frightened little bird, she jumps and whacks her knee on the open cabinet door.
“Damn it, Dante. You promised.” Her voice has lost its edge. She sounds almost fragile, and worse, she sounds hurt.
“I know I did. I’m sorry. I’m sorry I’m here, I’m sorry I left, and I’m sorry I asked you to help me. Using people is not something I make a habit of, regardless of what you think of me.”
She stares at the floor, but I can feel her ragged breaths from across the room. “What are you doing in here?”
With a sigh, I welcome the ache in my heart because, despite what I said, we do need to use each other. “I won’t let the media, my half-brother, or his minions ruin everything I’ve built. My niece and her mom count on me—they’ve been the only real family I’ve had.”Since you, but she’s already trying to flee, so I keep that part to myself. “I can’t let them get away with trying to ruin everything I’ve built for Poppy.”
Or for trying to ruin you. Does she know it’s Trent who tipped off Malimar’s reporter?
Her head snaps up, and her irises are filling with questions.
“They named her Poppy?” She sounds like I broke her spirit with that question.
“They did.”
“Who? Who chose it?” Saylor’s voice cracks, but her spine stays rigid—a little warrior planning her next attack.
“I did.”
I think she might stop breathing, but when she drops her gaze, her confusion becomes palpable. I’m sure hearing that I named my niece in her honor is the last thing she was expecting.
