Ask Kai.
Bastian’s not wearing his shirt. It smells like he just got out of the shower. I must have zoned out in front of the fire and imagined all that shit with Kai and the blood and the gun.
Right?
And I let Bastian lead me to his bedroom, my body already tingling with anticipation.
But that’s when it all goes to hell.
Because getting what you want is the most dangerous thing of all.
Chapter 8
Haven
“Last chance, Heavenly.”
I look up into Kai’s sparkling green eyes, concern etching a deep furrow between his wild eyebrows.
“There’s no coming back from this.”
I lift my hand, cupping his face. “I want this. I want you.”
He drops his head, and his body is heavy on mine as he lowers himself onto me. Leaves crackle and crunch under our makeshift bed. Just a blanket pulled over what we could scrape together over the cold ground beneath our favorite tree.
The towering maple sits sentry over the clearing where we first met. The one where we’d brainstorm our next adventure.
I’d been planning this for three years.
On the day I turned sixteen, Kai would take my virginity under this tree.
All I ever wanted was to belong to someone who’s seen every part of me and chosen to stay.
It’s all I thought I needed.
And the day was finally here.
Only problem is my period started this morning. But I’ll be damned if I’m going to let that ruin my special day. I’m wearing black, anyway. Black panties, black dress.
It’s been my favorite color lately—the color of things that happen in the dark…where no one can judge you.
We haven’t been out here for years. It’s a miracle we even managed to both be here today. But Kai swore an oath to me…even if he didn’t know what the hell I was making him promise.
All I told him back then was that on my sixteenth birthday, come hell or high water, he would meet me under this maple tree. In exchange, I’d do anything he wanted. An eternal IOU.
Not knowing I was basically signing my soul over to him for life.
I thought it was romantic as hell, and while Kai was confused at first, it looks like he’s coming round to the idea.
I laugh, and Kai pushes onto his palms, hovering over me again. “What’s so funny?”
“Your face,” I say through another laugh. “When I told you what we’re doing here.”
He grins, shaking his head as he looks away. “Yeah, you can be glad I made it. My girlfriend wanted me over at her house today.”
“You have a girlfriend?” I hadn’t meant that to come out like a banshee’s shriek, but here we are. The first crack in my fairy tale. A hint that I might not be as special as I thought.
Kai’s grin is even wider than before when he turns back to me. “Every time, Heavenly. Every time.”
