her, so close I almost stole a kiss when her lips brushed against mine. I almost took her right there against the tree. It would’ve been a release I have craved for years, but I needed to clear my head. I needed to think about this logically because her penance will have to be deserving of her crime.
When I finally kill the engine, the silence that hangs in the air is thick with tension. I should say something. Perhaps I should tell her that I’m doing this to get her away from an abusive bastard, but I want to hurt her as well. Not like he did, I just want her to know that no matter where she goes in life, she’s mine, she always will be.
Nobody can make her feel like I do.
No other man, or woman, can make her want, desire, and yearn for them like she does for me.
“I don’t know what to say to you anymore,” Kalyn whispers, her hands twisted together. “Why are you bringing me here?”
I ponder her words, her question, for a long while before I glance at her. “I may want you to pay for what you did, but I’m no monster. That bastard…” I allow my words to filter into nothing because anything I say will have the rage boiling up inside me again. And the last thing I need right now is to get into a fight with him.
When I take him down, it will be with precision, with class, and I’ll make sure he never has access to vulnerable young women again. I’ve seen men like him, time and again, and they always get what’s coming to them.
“What will your family say if I’m here?” Kaly asks, dragging my attention back to her. I focus on her pretty face. She’s thinner than she was at school. But her beauty still remains perfectly in place. High cheekbones, full, plump lips that just beg to be claimed, almond-shaped eyes, and straight, button nose. She is every photographer’s dream. Her wild, curly brown hair has highlights of gold in strands that only add to her unique beauty.
“My father doesn’t mind,” I tell her before turning my attention to the front of the car. I’ve parked just outside the garage door, and I allow my focus to remain on the wall instead of Kaly. “My brother, on the other hand, he’s about as angry as I am.”
Honesty was what I always gave her. Even when we were still at school, even when I knew the truth would hurt, I would offer it up as a gift. She did the same for me, and that’s how our friendship bloomed, like a rose. The sweet bud of new possibilities blossomed until she lied. That’s when the petals fell, and the happiness I once knew came crashing down.
“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” she finally says. Her hands shake as she reaches for me, and I wonder if she’s going through withdrawals or if she’s nervous to touch me. When her fingertips land on my arm, sparks shoot through me like they always have when we made contact.
Her heat is my drug.
Her touch is my addiction.
Being with her is a high so sweet, I never want to come down.
“What you didn’t mean to do and what you did do are two very different things, little liar,” I tell her before pushing open the car door. “Now come with me; it’s time to get some rest.” The moment I get out of the vehicle, fresh air hits me, and I miss her fragrance. It’s always been like this with us; each time I would leave her, I’d miss her.
It’s stupid to be so emotional over one person, but then I see how Damien is with Nesrin, and it all makes sense. I fell in love with Kalyn a long time ago; I just didn’t want to admit it. To her, or to myself.
Perhaps that’s why she did what she did. Maybe she thought if she were to hurt me, it would make it easier to leave. Whatever her reasons for lying, it doesn’t matter now because I finally have her where I want her—under my roof.
I lead her inside, and the moment we walk into the kitchen, I’m met with Finn, who’s working on his laptop at the table. His gaze flicks to me, then lands on the woman behind me. I notice his brow arching in question, but I don’t offer an answer.
This wasn’t part of