“Take me with you,” I whisper breathlessly against Riley’s lips repeating the words over and over, in between kisses as I lose myself in him again.
“Fuck, Snow,” Riley groans, the sound tortured, low, and thick. In an instant, he drops his bags from his shoulders before scooping me up from the back of my thighs, and my legs wrap around his middle on instinct. My arms encircle his neck, and I bury my face there, breathing in his comforting, clean scent.
He fumbles with the doorknob before finally pulling it open. I’m in nothing but a t-shirt, so the cool, dry air that gusts through the doorway sends a shiver throughout my body. Riley instinctively holds me tighter, sharing his body heat.
I look up as Riley carries me across the threshold to see Creed standing at the end of the foyer, concern igniting in his ice-blue eyes. It’s not a worry for me in the sense that he believes that Riley is taking me away. No, he’s worried about our boy like I am.
I give him a small, reassuring yet watery smile and nod, running my fingers through Riley’s hair with one hand while raising my index finger to point at him before signingOK,thenI love youwith the other.
He nods, then disappears around the corner before Riley can see him when he turns around to pull the door closed. I don’t know where he is going or where he’s taking us, but I let him carry me away, my heart singing a contented melody, knowing that I’vegothim.
I hold Riley tighter and whisper into his warm skin.
I make a promise to myself.
To Riley.
“I will do whatever it takes to make you see your own self-worth. To know what you mean to me. I’m never giving up on you and never giving you up, Riley Benjamin Graves.”
Chapter 36
Riley
“FORGIVE ME.”
What the hell is wrong with me?
I was prepared to leave tonight and go anywhere that wasn’t here. Ready to run like the coward that I am because leaving in the dead of night was easier than saying goodbye to the two people I love more than life itself. I was starting to honestly believe that maybe this beautiful life was really meant for me, but then my mother managed to find me and remind me of my toxicity.
I should’ve known that my plan of slipping out in the dead of night would be shot to hell and back with how light of a sleeper Collins is. She’s got this extra sense of knowing when I’m nearby and probably detected the moment I slipped from our bed.
I’m so goddamned weak that I couldn't even look her in the eye when I told her to let me go. I couldn’t because the words tasted bitter, because I didn’t mean them. I don’t want to leave them. Leave her. But I’ve hurt her in more ways than one, and I can’t live with the guilt that never stops eating me from the inside out—knowing the pain I’ve put her through.
But this beautiful girl didn’t back down. She showed me her spine of steel and never wavered, even when chasing me down and begging me stay.
She loves me.
Collins Adaire loves me.
I could feel the truth of her feelings with every word, every touch, every breath she took.
Take me with you.
Take me with you.
Take me with you…
Her plea caused some sort of seismic shift in the chemistry of my brain because suddenly, my mother’s venomous voice disappeared. All of my self-deprecating thoughts lowered in volume until all I could hear, see, smell, and think…was her. Collins. My girl. My life. My Snow.
So what did I do? I snatched her up, set her in the passenger seat of my Jeep, and took off like a fucking thief in the night. She’s been quiet next to me, but she sits there, contentedly lacing our fingers together while delicately srtoking the soft pads of her fingertips over the scars on top of my hand while I lead us through the night.
There’s a quiet cliffside property that Creed purchased. He bought it after he used to sneak me up there after tours to escape the noise for a while. There’s nothing but a dirt and gravel path leading up to it, but he used to drone on about building a house there when he’s ready to retire from the music industry.
It’s still dark out as we make our way down the road, nothing but the sound of rocks crunching beneath the tires until we reach the railing of the cliff’s edge.
It’s my favorite view because the moonlight casts an ethereal glow over the cliffside, illuminating the lake at the bottom. The vast expanse of tall trees and shrubs perfectly surrounds thewater’s perimeter, stopping just shy of the small waterfall that gently empties into the lake.
Collins’ breath hitches as she takes in the scenery, and I watch her intently. Her eyes are glassy from crying, and the tip of her nose is pink, but the moonlight sets her skin aglow, highlighting the gentle slopes and angles of her face.
