I remembered the way he kissed me before he’d disappeared. You couldn’t fake that. That wasn’t a fuckingmistake.
Damian wanted him to leave me.
Cal was trying to protect me from him.
No.
Fucking unacceptable.
This wasn’t Cal.
This was a product of whatever Damian had done to him.
“I don’t believe you,” I snapped, stepping into him and sliding my hand around the nape of his neck. I let him see everything I was feeling… All the feelings that I’d tried so hard to deny but had somehow developed regardless. I let him see and opened myself to them fully for the first time.
I wasn’t running from this anymore, and I wasn’t about to let him fucking run from this either.
“I’m in this, Cal. I don’t know what fucking happened to you, but I refuse to let it break us before we even had a chance to get started.”
He glared at me and tried to pull away, but I tightened my hold on his neck.
“You made me swear that I would be yours, remember? You literally held me down in that field and made me fucking promise.”
His eyes flashed, and his lips pursed, but I knew he was listening.
“Well, that goes both ways. You’re mine too, and it’s too late for you to run away now.”
Without waiting for him to respond, I slammed my mouth into his, and his eyebrows shot up in shock.
Instant.
Fucking.
Fireworks.
The second our lips touched, it was like the earth stopped spinning. My entire body reacted to his touch like it always did, and lightning exploded through my veins.
I pressed up against him, desperate to get closer.
Even with my body zipped against his, I didn’t feel like we were close enough. I felt like I mightneverbeclose enough to him. I wanted to literally crawl inside him and set up camp or let him crawl inside of me. I wasn’t picky. As long as we were together, I didn’t fucking care who was inside of who.
I justneededhim. And I knew he needed me, too.
For a split second, he softened, letting out the tiniest whimper that broke my already shattered heart. The way he reacted to the kiss—no matter how hard he was clearly fighting it—confirmed what I already knew.
He didn’t actually want to end this.
He didn’t think I was a mistake.
He was scared and hurt and trying to keep me safe in the only way he knew how.
For one shining moment, he let me kiss him. He quivered so slightly, and his hands twitched at his sides. I knew he wanted to wrap his arms around me and kiss me back.
Instead, he shoved me away roughly and growled in frustration, though there was a little bit ofsomethingin his gaze now. Those dead eyes softened just a bit.
He was still in there.
“Please… don’t make this harder than it needs to be, Ryan.” His voice was a guttural rasp. Like he was pleading with me to let him go.
