No one.
Livvie didn’t exist.
Not for anyone.
But me.
“Baby, who burned you?” Nick pushed gently.
I opened my eyes.
“Who burned you?” he pressed.
I stared into blue.
“Who burned you, baby?”
“I can’t be with you,” I told him.
“Who burned you, Livvie?”
“I can’t be with you, Nick.”
“Who burned you?”
“I can’t be with you because my father is a piece of shit and I care about you too much to have his stink settle on you.”
Nick went silent.
But the room went wired.
He heard me and he got me.
Every word.
He got me.
He knew who burned me.
He knew, my father burning me, there was no me. There was just Vincent Shade’s daughter, and me not even having me, I couldn’t give myself to someone else.
I felt the electricity snap against my skin, but for Nick I had to force out my plea.
“Let me go.”
Nick didn’t move or speak.
I slid my hands up and curled them around either side of his neck.
“You need to let me go, sweetheart,” I whispered.
He moved then.
He slammed his mouth down on mine and kissed me.
I didn’t bother fighting it. It had been weeks since I’d seen him, touched him, heard his voice. If I couldn’t fight it to stop something from starting that I knew for the both of us was unhealthy, the need I had for him after weeks without him was impossible to beat.
So, no.