Shannon fought, trying to go back, but her feet mostly slid and kicked in place. Sweat poured down her temples. “If she wanted to stay with you, she would. Now let go!”
His mind was a slew of incomplete thoughts, but all of them were uncomfortable. I found myself opening up to his mind so I could interpret some of it.
Rot slowly released his grip on my ankles. His hands caressed my skin as I collided with Shannon, like he wanted to touch me one last time. I slammed into Shannon’s lap as we slid onto the gravel.
The sudden jarring disorientated me, and it took me a long minute to catch my breath. The entire length of my body was on the rough gravel.
I’d escaped the swamp.
That can’t be right. There was no way Shannon overpowered Rot.
I rolled over to find him just inside the swamp, staring at me with sad eyes and his posture deflated.
He let me go.
He allowed me to go where he had no control.
As hard as I’d fought to leave, it stung to realize he’d let me go. It made my voice break, “What are you doing?”
“When you chose me, I was too scared to appreciate what that meant. For a woman who never chose for herself to select me.” He swallowed loudly. “If I drag you back, it won’t be the same. That fire I love so much about you will die.”
I hated the painful way his voice broke. His red eyes glowed in the dark, still a predator even when he wasn’t a threat anymore.
“If you choose me again, I won’t repeat that mistake.” It was strange to hear his voice devoid of all its arrogance and gruffness. “Please. Come back to me.”
Shannon shot to her feet, crossing her arms. Those critical hazel eyes turned to daggers, even in complete darkness. “How does she know this isn't manipulation? Prove that you mean it.”
“Shannon.” I let out a breath that could have been a laugh if I had the energy for it. She didn’t even know what was going on.
“You’re almost a doctor, Talia.” She rolled her eyes, shifting her glare to me. “You can get any man you want with a bat of your pretty blue eyes and a wiggle of your ass, and you both need to act like it.”
“She’s right,” Rot agreed.
The shock made me freeze. He dropped to his knees and bowed in the mud, his weight slowly deepening the position as he sank down.
For the first time, I realized exactly how guarded he’d been. The guardrails around his emotions dropped, and his emotions flooded me. As if all the thoughts I’d heard before were seepage from a cracked dam.
His body grew tense and hunched in an uncomfortable position. It reminded me of a street dog waiting for a human to hurt them. Yet his claws dug into the ground, ready to fight anything.
I knew how much it hurt. To bare yourself to the other person.
“Please stay,” he begged. “For me.”
The swamp went silent, as if even the frogs and bugs were waiting for my response.
The sound of a car coming off the highway and the flash of headlights came from the exit ramp up the way.
“The witch?”
“The cops wouldn’t come. She said she’d be here as soon as possible. I didn’t think it would be that fast.”
“She’ll hurt him.” Fear boiled inside me. What if she hurt him? The fear made my chest tight. Whatever my decision was, I didn’t want him harmed.
“I brought her here. I’ll get rid of her.” Shannon shrugged like it was nothing, then smiled. “Maybe she’ll give me a ride back to town.”
Pain washed over me as Rot got a taste of what I’d felt, waiting for my response.
What if this was a trick? What if he reverted to his normal behavior the second we were alone?
