It merely added to the internal battle that surfaced in the forefront of my mind. It was a whirlwind of thoughts racing profusely.
From my mind.
To my heart.
To every bone in my body.
I didn’t move, cemented in place.
There was no hiding from it…
I wasn’t that girl. The one torn between two brothers. It wasn’t fair, but when was life ever fair to me?
If anything, this seemed right on par.
Fisting my hands, I fought with the words that already tasted like battery acid on my tongue, and I hadn’t even said them yet.
Leaning into his embrace, I shut my eyes. His hand was warm on my cheek and soft on my skin.
“If Julius doesn’t come home,” I said out loud, “where does that leave us?”
“Right now, it leaves us back home.”
I opened my gaze, repeating, “Home?”
“Yeah, Kitty.” He smiled, his eyes falling to my mouth. “Come home with me.”
My eyebrows rose. Hesitant at first, he gripped the crook of my neck, pulling me toward him to rest his forehead on mine.
“You make me want to forget Julius is my brother.”
I lightly sucked in a breath, not expecting his confession.
Of course he read my thoughts, following up with, “What do you think about that?”
“I think…” The question consumed me for a minute until I finally confided, “You make it really hard to remember what I’m supposed to do.”
“What do you want to do, Isla?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It does to me.”
“It won’t change anything.”
“Try me.”
“Kraven…” I stressed, leaning into him. “You know I care about you too.”
“Then how about you stop pretending it doesn’t matter.”
“That’s the problem,” I confirmed, trying to be as honest as I could with him. “It matters too much, and either way you look at it, someone gets hurt, including me.”
“Julius isn’t here, Isla, and that has to count for something. His loss is my gain.”
“I’m not a prize.”
“No, but you’re the only one who makes me forget how fucked up everything is right now. You’re the reason I stay, Kitty.”
