Shattered Rose (Winsor Series) - By T L Gray Page 0,126

a soft kiss on my lips. He pulled back smiling, knowing he had won, but I didn’t want this. The blinders were off, and I knew without question that his arms were the last place I wanted to be.

“Jake,” I said, putting my hands on his chest and stopping him as he came in for a deeper kiss. “I didn’t come here to talk about our future…I came to finally say goodbye to the past.”

My words took a minute to register, but when they did, he grabbed my wrists and pulled me back to him, pinning my body between himself and the wall. His demeanor had shifted so quickly that I froze in stunned silence as he spoke to me.

“You don’t mean it; you’re confused and scared, because you don’t trust me anymore. I get it. It’s all I thought about last night, because I knew he’d manipulate you into making the wrong choice.”

His voice sounded desperate as he leaned against me, nuzzling my neck with is lips as he spoke. His body weight was crushing and my heart started to race as I felt my breathing become labored. He took my reaction as encouragement and started kissing my jawline as he spoke.

“You’ve just forgotten,” he purred. “Forgotten how great we are, how much you love me.” He paused for just as second, and then continued, “I love you, Avery, you have to know that; I’ll never let you down again.”

With those last words, he pressed his lips to mine, forcing them open as he imposed his body on mine. When I didn’t respond, he got more eager and more aggressive, squeezing my wrist to the point where they started to throb. I moved underneath him, trying to get any space I could. Butterflies surged in my stomach, but not because it felt good or exciting, but because it felt wrong, so wrong that I somehow found the strength to turn my head enough to stop the kiss and mumble, “Jake, stop…you’re hurting me.”

His body went rigid as he set his forehead on the wall behind us. “And what do you think you’re doing to me?” he asked, his voice cracking as he did so.

He slowly began to loosen his grip as I felt the blood rush back to my fingers, bringing relief and pain at the same time. He backed away from me, allowing my lungs to take in a full breath of air, and slumped over to the couch to sit down.

I took a deep breath, calming my beating heart and sat down next to him, taking his hand in mine. “I fell in love with him,” I said softly, hoping those words would explain it all.

“You used to be in love with me,” he stated flatly, looking up at me with his piercing green eyes.

“I was obsessed with you, Jake…so much so that I allowed it to infiltrate every aspect of my life. I would have been anything you wanted me to be, done anything you asked of me, just to be with you. Even if it meant losing myself completely.”

“Baby, that’s what love is,” he said sighing, shaking his head.

“I used to think so,” I explained, “but now I realize it is so much more, and as much as you think you love me now, you don’t, Jake.” He started to interrupt, but I continued, cutting him off. “You don’t know me. I’m just starting to get to know the real me.”

“And you think he does? Know you, that is,” he asked, contempt dripping from his mouth.

“I think it doesn’t matter. What matters is that I love myself enough to do what’s best for me.”

“And what do you think that is, Avery?” His words were full of bitterness as he looked at me.

“Letting you go,” I stated softly. His face immediately changed as disbelief and anger set in. I made sure he kept eye contact with me as I continued, “And if you care about me as much as you say you do…you’ll let me do that.”

He stared at me for a long time as if daring my eyes to say what my mouth just did. I held my ground, matching his silence with my own, never taking my eyes from his. He finally shook his head and jumped off the couch to walk away. I didn’t turn to look at him, and jumped when I heard the bathroom door slam behind him.

I stood up and took a deep breath, feeling relief cover me as left