I’m yours,I wanted to say.
And I heard him say back in his head,I’m yours, too.
And somehow, impossibly, despite the intense yearning, we drifted to sleep tangled together. For the first time in ages, I found myself without dreams.
9
MACKENZIE
The sunlight slipped through the cracks in the blinds, gold slashing across the thin cabin walls, painting Max in sharp, holy light.
I peered up at him. The sun carved shadows down his chest, tattooing his body in needle-like lines.
God. He was warm against me. We were still face-to-face, our lips so close to each other. His arm looped low around my waist, fingers twitching in his sleep, and I felt them under the hem of my shirt. His palm pressed to my stomach, fingers splayed over my ribs. He held me like I was his.
I hadn’t slept next to someone since I was five years old. But now that I had, I never wanted him to go back up to his bunk.
I lifted my head slowly, memorizing him. His mouth was slightly parted, his hair rumpled, his lashes dark against his cheeks. He looked so painfully beautiful and peaceful. Pain had never found him. Not like it had for me. Pain had scarred me.
I pressed my fingers to the scar on the back of my neck, tracing the raised knot of skin where the staples had been. It didn’t feel like a badge of survival. It felt like a weight I would never shake.
Jackson’s voice slammed into my thoughts.
“If you scream, I’ll kill you,”he had said as he pressed the lit end of his cigarette into my skin.
That had always been my punishment for doing something he disliked.
He always looked at me like I was an annoyance, a nuisance he didn’t want to deal with. But at the same time, I was something he wanted to conquer.
Max looked at me differently. He kissed my scar last night. No one else had ever done that.
When he kissed me, it felt as if he was trying to transfer his soul into my body. I wanted to do it again. I felt the butterflies when he kissed me, and I wanted that feeling back.
It made me forget everything—even the darkness. I wonder what he’d do if he knew how badly the darkness torments me.
His eyes fluttered open. He blinked, dazed, and then gave me a slow, lazy smile that knocked the air out of my lungs.
“Hey,” he rasped, his voice rough with sleep.
“Hey,” I whispered back, my head propped on my hand.
We were still tangled, his leg draped over mine, his hands on me as if he had no intention of letting go.
His gaze lingered on my face, dropped down, and came back up again. Hunger bled through the cracks in his composure. It wasn’t just his fingers tightening on my waist, or the way his breath hitched when I licked my lips. It was in his eyes, heated glances, a barely contained growl in his voice when I adjusted my bare leg against his.
I could feel him hardening against me. His desire wasn’t quiet or polite. But he was holding back, waiting for permission.
Jackson never waited. Jacksontook.Max would be wild too, but not in the same way. He’d rage like a storm, yes, but he’d let mechooseto step into it. He’d want me to feel every second of it. He’d like me to take control.
“What?” I teased, feigning coyness.
His smile was small. “First time I’ve seen you in the morning like this.”
“You’ve seen me all the time,” I rolled my eyes.
“Not like this. Not the first thing. Lying next to me.” He bent close to me and whispered, “Inmyclothes. You’re beautiful.”
He shook his head slightly, as if he couldn’t believe he had said that. He reached out, brushing a strand of hair from my face. I was really starting to like that gesture. He did it often. I smiled at him, and he paused, studying me so intently I almost flinched. Those aquamarine eyes were open, unguarded. He wasn’t just looking at me; he was truly seeing me.
