“Drop the book, angel. I won’t tell you again,” he said as he brought his hand up to his face. I heard the whispers of the embers crackling as the orange light grew brighter.
“How long?” I repeated, my voice shaking with emotion. He charged me then, tossing the full cigarette aside on to the floor, stomping it out as he went. His hands gripped my upper arms, the moonlight casting a cold glow on his face that made his icy eyes stand out in the darkness. His jaw was tight, his teeth bared.
“Drop the book.”
I shook my head, tears in my eyes. “Col, please.”
“Never,” he snapped, yanking the book from my arms and throwing it across the room. It hit his bed with a bang, sending the ink-stained papers all over.
He turned back to me and gripped my throat, backing me up into a wall. My hands touched his wrist gently as my airway was cut off.
“Collin,” I choked out.
“What do you want from me, huh? Why can’t you just leave shit alone? Leave me alone.” His hands loosened a fraction, and I sucked in as much air as I could.
“I love you too,” I whispered.
His face changed then, those icy eyes growing wide, his lips parting as he released me, as if touching my skin burned him. He backed away, his eyes never leaving my face. I followed, reaching my hand out to grab his.
“I love you,” I repeated, knowing he had never heard those three words in his entire existence.
“Stop.”
“No. Collin, I love you! I have always loved you, from the moment I saw you,” I cried as he yanked his hand away. He backed into the door, as if he was afraid of me.
“I’ll kill you,” he snarled.
“Do it,” I challenged. “I will love you even when I am buried in the damn ground, Collin Stevens.”
He shook his head. “No, Karina,” his voice cracked.
“I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. I’m yours. You own me. You own my body you didn’t want to look at and my soul you were afraid to taint.”
He released a guttural cry before launching at me, his hands encasing my face as his lips crushed against mine. I whimpered and put my hands on his face too.
“I hate you,” he breathed, resting his forehead against mine.
“That’s okay, Col. I’ll love us both,” I said, taking his lips again.
He crumbled then, his tongue invading my lips, his dark soul touching mine.
His arms wrapped around me, holding me tightly as he walked us backwards. He laid me down on the floor, in the moonlight, on top of his words he was too afraid to say to me.
He fell to his knees before me, his eyes dilated.
“You are a vision. My only vision, Karina.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Collin
Did the explosion kill me?
I rubbed my chest as I stared down at the angel in my bed. Perhaps it was all an illusion, a concussion. The possibility of this being heaven was derived from idiocy.
Demons didn’t go to Heaven.
The world didn’t like methat fuckingmuch.
