"You're staring at me."
"I'm not." His denial is clipped, and he closes his eyes, the muscle in the side of his jaw flexing. "Okay, I am. The truth is… I'm worried about you."
The admission is refreshingly honest and direct. I'm not sure what to do with that. "I'm fine."
"Are you?" He closes his book, leaning back in his chair. "Because what I caught of the show between you and Laurel at Ashcroft Manor didn't seem like you were fine."
Heat crawls up my neck. "I had it under control."
"Did you?"
The question hangs between us, pointed and uncomfortable. I want to snap back, but the truth is I'm not sure he's wrong. The darkness that surged through me felt good in a way that still makes my skin crawl.
He leans forward and props his elbows on the table, pegging me with a look that makes my stomach clench. "You can trust me, you know? With what you're thinking, what you're feeling."
"I know that."
"Do you?" The hurt in his voice is brewing in his eyes, too. "I didn't handle the past couple of weeks well, and I'm sorry about that.”
My stomach twists. "You don't need to apologize for being angry about me agreeing to a blood-contract with a demon. Believe me, I get it."
"No, I don't think you do." He shifts closer. "My reaction had nothing to do with the contract itself."
I stare at him, confused. "It didn't?"
"No." His voice is raw in a way I've never heard from him. "Asher knew. Sebastian knew. But you kept it from me. I thought we were getting close. It hurt that you didn't feel like you could confide in me."
The revelation sucks the air out of my lungs. All this time, I'd assumed he was judging me for signing Tharuzel's contract, disappointed by my desperation or reckless stupidity. It never occurred to me that his anger stemmed from feeling shut out.
"I was ashamed. I was already tainted from my bloodline being demon-marked. You’re right. We were getting close, and I didn't want you to look at me differently."
"Poppy, I?—"
"No, listen." I press my palms against the table's cool surface. "I was trapped in Hell, scared, and alone. I didn't know what else to do. I was staring up at this hideous, evil beast of a demon who was ready to toss me to the side and go after my little sisters. I did what I thought I had to in that moment, but that doesn't mean I'm not ashamed and horrified."
"And you thought I'd judge you for trying to save your family?"
"Wouldn't you? We don't actually have a track record of mutual respect and support."
"No, that's you and Asher, right?" The words come out fierce and accusatory.
Before I can respond, he curses, circles the table, and sits beside me. "I'm sorry. Your life has been chaos since you got back here, and I didn't make it any easier. It makes perfect sense that you turned to Asher for comfort and Sebastian for answers. I'm just saying that in the future, I can be that for you, too. You can trust me to be on your side."
My throat tightens. "Okay. Thanks."
He takes my hand. "I can handle the crazy, the messy, and the scary. All of it."
The sincerity in his expression cracks something open inside me. Before I can second-guess the impulse, I lean forward and kiss him.
He freezes for a heartbeat, then his hand comes up to cup the back of my neck, pulling me closer. The kiss is tender, but with something edgy and wild underneath. The first time we kissed, he surprised me, and I didn’t know what to think.
This kiss isn’t that.
Heat blooms through my chest, chasing away the cold anxiety that's been my constant companion, and I’d swear the house inhales, as if to bear witness.
There's something magical that happens when Wylder lets his guard down. And while it doesn't happen often, I think that makes a moment like even more special.
His thumb traces the edge of my jaw as he eases back, staring at my lips. "We never got around to that talk, did we?"
