“Make me beg, Madison.” My voice cracks around her name. “I’ll do whatever it takes to earn your forgiveness… Please.” The word scrapes out of me before I can stop it, and I choke back the rest. I promised I wouldn’t push her.
Silence fills the space between us. The air hums with heat and uncertainty. I’m leaving everything up to her, every chance, every question, every piece of me. Her gaze roams over me, slow and searching, and I feel every second of it down to my toes. Heat coils low in my stomach, electricity sparking from where my thumb rests against her soft skin.
Come on, baby, make me beg.
Her lips purse as she reaches out, looping a finger through the belt loop of my jeans and tugging me closer. My breath stutters. Her chest rises and falls, quick and uneven, like she’s fighting the same pull that’s dragging me under. It’s inevitable, though. The longer I stand here with her this close, the stronger it gets—the heat between us, the ache for what we used to be. I know that when I earn her forgiveness,when she finally trusts me again, when she believes that I’m never leaving her side… we’ll go up in flames, and neither of us will be able to stop it.
“Why…” Her voice comes out stronger, more confident as her eyes harden. “Why did you ghost me?”
“I’m sorr—” I start, but her hand comes up, stopping me.
“No, I know you’re sorry. I believe you when you say it. But I need to knowwhy. I need to know what happened. Why did you shut me out after all these years of being by your side?” She blows out a shaky breath.
“We don’t have a lot of time,” I whisper, leaning in until my forehead rests against hers. “I want to show you something. I want to tell you everything. There are things I need you to know, demons that live inside me that you haven’t met.”
Her hands grip the backs of my arms, waiting for me to continue. But before I can, a sharp knock rattles the door, snapping the moment in half. The world floods back in, too bright, too loud. The light above the desk blinds me as I tip my head back and curse under my breath.
“Not to break up the progress, guys,” Connor calls from the other side, “but doors are open.”
“We’ll be right there,” Madison yells back, and I tighten my hold on her hip.
Fuck.I don’t want to let her go. Not now. Not when we are finally starting to breathe the same air again. I don’t want to leave this unfinished. She slips out of my grip, stepping away. The warmth of her touch fades, and I hate how cold I feel without it.
“Will you go for a drive with me tonight?” I ask, before she leaves.
She pauses with her hand on the door, glancing over her shoulder. Her eyes ping between mine, and she must see thedesperation there. Her face softens before she twists the handle.
“No,” she says, and walks out.
I hang my head, exhaling through a laugh that’s more bittersweet than amusement. I told her not to shrink. I told her to make me beg.That right there, that was my girl taking her power back.
9
ONE DRINK
MADISON
Shit. Shit. Shit.
I high-tail it out of Hunter’s office. My nerves are shot, my heart pounding in my throat, my hands damp with sweat. I walked in there with my stomach in knots, not knowing what to say. My broken heart crumpled in my hands with one look at those pale blue eyes, how they swam with guilt and loneliness. The pull was forceful. Magnetic. There was no stopping the fire burning between us. The slow strokes of his thumb against my skin sent a current of electricity racing through me. His scent—cedar and clean soap—engulfed me, wrapped around me, begging me to taste him. Heat circled low in my stomach, burning me from the inside out. I wanted to push him back, straddle him, and take what I needed. Take what he took from me.
For months, I’ve been this sad, empty shell of myself, and within twenty minutes of his presence, I feel more alive. Moremethan ever before. And I hate that. I hate how he has that kind of power over me. I shouldn’t let a man make me feel so small. So empty. But he did. Hunter made me feel like that, and that’s why this isso damn hard. Because he’s the one person in this world who shouldn’t have. He wants my forgiveness, but he’s going to have to wait for me. Not to forgive him, but to find myself without him. I need to be mewithouthim before I can be mewithhim.
I push open the door that leads to the bar. It’s Tuesday night—our quietest night—but that doesn’t make it any less alive. The low hum of conversation mixes with the clink of glasses and the faint nineties music drifting from the jukebox. A few locals play a game of pool at one of the three tables, their laughter echoing off the timber walls. Most of our regulars are here—guys still in dusty boots, shirts rolled up, shoulders heavy from the day.
I spot Halle perched at the bar, elbow propped, eyes locked on Asher as he pours a round. Her lips move like she’s saying something to him, but when she catches sight of me, she spins her stool toward me, offering a weary smile. Asher no doubt told her who I’ve been with.
Before she can speak, I grab her hand. My grip tightens, desperate, as I tug her without a word. She stumbles after me, muttering my name, but I don’t stop. My pulse is so loud in my ears, echoing the slam of the bathroom door as I pull her inside.
“I know he’s your brother, and this is probably… weird, but I need my best friend right now,” I blurt, pacing back and forth. My fingers twist at the ends of my hair before I throw it over my shoulder. “I don’t know what to do. What to think. He… he just?—”
Halle throws her hands out, grabbing my shoulders with a sly grin on her face.
“He just what?”
I groan, dropping my head for a second before throwing it back. “He just stood there, all tall and impossibly sexy, towering over me, burning me with those stupid blue eyes.”
“Burning you with his eyes?” Her brow lifts.
