My brows pinch so tightly that the skin on my forehead feels like it might rip. “Why did you do that?”
“He was touching you,” he grinds out.
“Oh, and you weren’t touching that woman earlier?” I shoot back quickly.
He swipes a hand over his sharp jaw. “That’s different.”
I scoff in disbelief. “How? Your actions make no sense! You fucking hate me.”
Caleb stares at me for a long, long moment. “You havenoidea how I feel,” he rasps with a trembling chest.
“Then tell me. Tell me how you feel,” I snap, feeling at wits' end with him. “I’d love to know what’s going on in your head for once in my life because I’ve got nothing but your dismissal.”
He curses under his breath and turns around, facing the direction of the manor. But we’re hidden from view, not a single other person in sight. He’s shaking all over, and I can hear his lungs working overtime.
When he doesn’t respond, I throw my hands up in the air before they slap my thighs. “I’m done with this, Caleb,” I murmur. “I can’t do this back and forth; it’s exhausting.”
I start to walk away before I hear, “Don’t.”
My feet halt against the grass, and I hate myself for listening to him. I angrily twist towards him to find his eyes glistening and his face slack. “What the hell do you want from me?”
Caleb’s fists tighten as his eyes flick between mine. “I want?—”
I curl an eyebrow when he stops talking. He drags a hand down his face as words fail him. I’m running out of patience, and I’m done looking like a fool.
“I give up. I’m done. We should just reject each other, it’s clearly what’s best, and I–”
“Oh, fuck it.” I hear him mutter before he’s storming towards me with determination.
I freeze as he reaches me, grips my jaw, and tugs me towards him. My breath hitches as his eyes rest over mine, dilated and filled with fire.
“This,” he grunts in desperation. “This is what I fucking want.”
Then he leans forward and presses his lips to mine.
I tense at first in shock, but the second he cups the side of my face with his large, warm hand, I close my eyes and fall headfirst into the sensation. He deepens the kiss, claiming my lips with his. I have no idea what I’m doing, but it’s hot, heavy, and unexpected.
I should push him away. I should not let him do this. But I can’t find the courage to do so.
He places a hand at the curve of my spine and arches me into him, our chests flush against one another. My whole body turns into a blazing fireball at his touch, the bond lighting up like fireflies between us.
Caleb tastes sweet and soft, completely opposite of his hard exterior. He leaves me gasping for breath as I chase the kiss faster than I can blink. His tongue slowly brushes against mine ever so slightly, and a soft moan crawls up my throat. He grunts in response, kissing me harder to the point I’m lost in him.
After a few moments, he pulls away and rests his forehead against mine. I glance up at his eyes, and I choke on a breath at the vulnerability inside them—something I’ve rarely seen.
“Goddess, I’m losing my fucking mind,” he whispers.
Then he removes himself from me altogether, as if suddenly remembering something. There’s a tidal wave of agony in my sternum from both of us.
“You don’t have someone trying to dictate your life,” Caleb says hollowly.
I used to, and it was hell. I understand more than you know,I say in my head.
My throat aches at the pain in his voice, and yet my lips are still tingling from our kiss. It’s a whiplash of emotions to go from one extreme to the other.
“Someone who tears down every little thing you do until you barely recognise yourself anymore. All the fucking lies. The fake feelings. The hatred I feel.”
I blink in surprise at his outburst. It’s the first time I’ve seen him anything other than cold and shut off. He looks to the grass, eyes filling with sadness.
