Maybe I should fight too, instead of running away from my problems.
“So I want you to find out what kind of person you are if you stay.” Victor brushes a lock of hair from my face, and my blood rushes to the spot where his fingers connected with my skin.
He then trails one finger down my neck to the back of my shoulder. He places his warm palm on my shoulder wound, burning my skin with his heat.
“I call them unfinished wounds that will bleed again and again. And if you really want to get closure, you should stay.”
I blink back tears. I hate that he’s right.
“Maybe I can leave temporarily and I’ll come back when it’s safer for everyone.” This is my attempt to reason with the Bull. But mostly it’s my attempt to remind me of my purpose—I need to get my freedom back.
“The farther you run, no matter for how long, the harder it’ll be for you to find your way back home.”
My heart is going to explode. I’m breathless. I shake my head. “You’ll get in trouble. Trouble follows me everywhere. I’m broken, Victor. And I break everything I touch.”
Victor’s eyes grow wide, bright green shining through. It’s easy to see his soul there—gentle, kind, empathetic.
“I’m unbreakable.”
Another superhero power I didn’t know about? His eyes darken now, filled with… desire?
A few tears escape and drip down my cheeks. And then I start sobbing. I cover my face with my hands, but Victor takes them in his and holds them.
“And when you’re ready to talk, I’ll be here.”
My heart does another flip in my chest. He releases me, and I wipe my wet cheeks as much as I can.
“I need to find out something,” Victor says.
“What now?”
“Can I taste you?” His eyes sparkle.
“Yes, but it’s a bad—”
His lips press against mine, sending electroshocks all the way down to my toes. Victor is not moving, as though he’s just as surprised as I am that he’s kissing me. But then his mouth starts moving as if I’m his last breath of air.
His lips are raw and sensitive. I should push him away, but instead my arms snake around his neck, pulling him closer against my lips. He groans as his whole body presses against me, his heat warming my insides. He’s holding me and kissing me possessively, but I feel freer than I ever have.
Not that I have much experience kissing. There was Jacob who kissed me on the playground, but Alek twisted his arm so hard afterwards that I never saw Jacob again. Then there was my lab partner at school, Michael. His kiss had too much saliva.
Victor’s body envelops mine completely and I forget all about my past. I can’t get enough of him, the way he consumes me completely. I fit perfectly against him. He runs his fingers through my hair, his hand gliding from my cheek to the back of my head over and over again. His tongue urges me to release my resistance and to let him in.
My body tenses, and as though he senses that too, he changes the kiss to a tender and gentle touch. And I open for him. Our tongues touch and I taste him—the sweetest taste. I moan against his lips, and his body presses into me even more. My knees are becoming weak and I wobble.
Victor disconnects the touch, and with solid arms he lifts me up and carries me like a delicate flower to the kitchen countertop. My head is now level with his. I’m panting hard, and so is he.
“You taste like sugarplum candy. You’re as sweet as the sugar on the inside and hardened as the candy on the outside.”
I remember him telling me about his favorite food.
Hot and cold waves run through my spine. My palms grow damp. I blink repeatedly, trying to make sense of what I’ve done, my mind racing.
Someone could walk in on us. I push Victor’s hard chest. His eyebrows raise, then scrunch together. I’ve never done this before. He’s not interested in the real me. He probably thinks I’m a pitiful girl who can’t take care of herself. He thinks I need saving.
“Tia?”
I dash for the stairs and lock myself in Alek’s room. Victor doesn’t follow and I appreciate the space. I take a calming breath and study the framed pictures on the dresser.
