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"But it’s closed," I say stupidly
"We didn’t coets out, then comes around the car and opens my door before I have a chance He reaches a hand down to help ratefully
"Why did we come?"
"Walk with me"
I study his face, unable to read his mood He takes h tall, leafy trees, their green leaves now black and gray in the , but then we turn, and I gasp A lake is spread open in front of us, a wilderness surrounding it, the iant orb of the moon itself reflected in such a way that it appears that we could dive in and capture it for ourselves "It’s beautiful," I say
"Welcoer See I used to spend hours here," he says "I would sit on the bank and listen to the water and the birds and the wind in the trees I would closeat the lake, but now he turns to look at me "I wanted to show you," he says What I hear is, "I’ overwhelently kisses ly romantic, and I can’t help but wish that we could stay here, lost in the dappled light, hidden away by the fantasy of being all alone in the world
A treh my body, and I turn away I’ve fallen so fast for thishiether despite our shitty pasts will be ripped away I press uished screaht now--scream and yell and cry until Damien does whatever he has to do to fix this and o away
But I don’t Instead I stand firhtest erous And right now, the last thing either of us needs is an explosion
"Nikki" My nao of my hand as he moves to stand behind me His palms press down on entle touch of his lips upon the top of ers as he strokes my arms, bare in the sleeveless dress "I pissed you off that first night at Evelyn’s, remember? I should have let you stay pissed I should have walked away from you and never looked back"
My ht I do not want to hear these words I don’t want to believe that there is even some tiny part of him that would prefer to have never been with s from a desire to protect e, and it sounds strangled and raw
He turns ently, then presses his palm to my cheek "It rips me apart to see the fear in your eyes"
His words are soft and gentle, but they hit me with as much force as a kick in the chest, and I respond in kind, surprising both of us when I lash out and slap him across the face
"Stop it!" I shout, all ofout in astop it! You think that’s a solution? Wishing that we’d never gotten together? Goddaoing to fucking coddle " I srabs ainstnow It’s raw and dangerous and I know that I’ve pushed him too far, but I don’t care As far as I’ht then, all I want is to break hiet through his head that the only way to save hioing to put you away for life" My voice is clipped and precise "Christ, Damien, how can you not be scared shitless? I’et out of bed every day!"
He stares atGreek "Not afraid?" His words are heavy with barely contained fury I don’t know if it’s directed at h that it makes him tremble "Is that what you think?"
I take an involuntary step back, but he stopsintome firmly in place "Is that really what you think? Jesus Christ, Nikki, I’ able to touch you To kiss you To hear you laugh, to look at you To be with you"
I am so lost in his words that I do not realize that he has been easing ainst a tree, the bark rough through the thin material of my dress His hands slide possessively down asp as desire, hot and dehyou" His ainstthe thin material of the skirt with him
"Not scared?" he whispers as his pal underwear, and he slips easily inside rateful that he is there to hold me up because my entire body feels like liquid fire
"I’m more terrified than I’ve ever been in my life," he says, and then his ers insiderhythm of his kiss For one beautiful, blissful otten where we are and e are here There is only Daainstpast the desire and this desperate need that has ers I press ain
"How dare you be afraid Godda o away You could o ho at me, and there is infinite sadness in his eyes "Oh, baby If I could take away your fear, I would"
"If you could?" I repeat "You can, and you da pissed off that you won’t do anything about it"