baby blues, and my heart dropped into my stomach. Shit, I should have known it wouldn’t be this easy. Nothing about this girl ever was, and I loved that about her. But fuck, I just wanted us to be together.
“Dimples,” I started, but she stepped back, putting distance between us once again.
“No. I’m not playing this game with you, Jags.”
“Just give me—give us—a chance,” I pleaded. “I swear you won’t regret it.”
“Yeah?” she demanded skeptically. “For how long? How long do you even want there to be an ‘us’?”
“Until I draw my last breath,” I told her honestly, swallowing the lump that tried to fill my throat.
Her eyes filled with tears, and I knew she wanted to give in, but her fear wouldn’t let her. “What happens when Cannon comes home?” she asked in a shaky voice. “He won’t like us being together. It’s why all this bullshit happened in the first place. You chose him over me once already, Jags. You’ll do it again.”
“Never,” I vowed vehemently, cupping both sides of her face. “I swear to you, Dimples. I will always pick you. Over anyone or anything. You’re mine and I’m yours, baby. Just…let me show you.”
“I…can’t,” she whispered, her chin trembling. “I don’t trust you not to hurt me. If Luca can do that to Vi, then it will be nothing for you to do the same. I’m not like Violet. I’m not strong enough to survive it if you break my heart again.”
“That’s the thing, baby. You aren’t Vi.” I wiped away one of her tears as it spilled down her cheek. “And I’m sure as hell not Luca. You shouldn’t be comparing yourself—or us—to anyone. It’s you and me, not them. I can’t promise you it will be okay for Violet and Luca, but I can sure as hell swear on my soul that I will never hurt you.”
She was weakening. I could feel it in the way her body trembled as she fought not to melt against me. I pulled her even closer, making the temptation that much harder for her to resist, and I lowered my head to her ear. “From this day forward, you are my number one priority. I will walk across broken glass, crawl on my stomach across hot coals, just to be with you. I know I’ve messed up in the past, but that will never happen again, Dimples. I won’t allow Cannon, or anyone else, to ever come between us.” I nuzzled her ear with my nose, breathing in her sweet fragrance. “I fucking love you, Shaw.”
“Jags,” she moaned, her forehead pressing against my chest.
“Tell me you love me too, baby,” I pleaded.
“I…I do,” she choked out. “But we can’t be together. I don’t trust you with my heart.”
“Godsdamn it, Shaw,” I groaned, my hands grasping her hips hard. “I’m not going to break your heart. I swear to you.”
“Luca made those same promises,” she snapped, jerking away from me. “And if he can’t keep them, I sure as fuck am not going to believe you will.”
I raked my fingers through my hair in frustration. “Stop comparing me to him!” I growled. “Luca has always been a tantrum-prone asshole. It was why he was always getting in trouble when we were younger. I have more self-control than him. I don’t let my temper or the need to one-up people rule my life.”
“You set me up to find you with another girl,” she said with a shrug, but the anger on her face couldn’t hide the way her voice cracked or the way her chin trembled. “I got the hint loud and clear, Jagger. I won’t give you another chance to do that to me again.”
“I fucked up!” I exploded. “But I’ve learned my lesson.”
“So did I.” Her voice was as hard as her eyes had just become.
“Baby—”
“I learned never to let anyone have access to my heart. I learned that no guy is ever legit when he tells a girl he loves her.” She wrapped her arms around herself, as if she were suddenly cold. “But I also learned that the best way to get over the guy who tore your heart out of your chest is to get under another one.”
I stumbled back as if she’d physically hit me. “You hooked up with someone?” Jealousy and desperation made my voice shake with rage. “Who was it?” I just needed a name. I’d find the fucker who touched my girl and bury him.