I confess, struggling to find my voice as her gaze on me remains tender and true.
She kisses my wrist this time, and my own eyes shut of their own accord, treasuring her soft graze.
“You didn’t send those emails to Watkins & Ellis, did you?” Unable to speak, I just shake my head from side to side and keep listening. “But someone went through a whole lot of trouble to make it seem like you did.”
I don’t say anything to that either. Stone has always been clever. I was a fool in thinking she wouldn’t see through The Society’s ploys.
“The first night you came into Big Jim’s, it was because that same person sent you there, wasn’t it?” Even without uttering a word, she sees my guilt plastered all over my face. With her confidence wavering, she hushes, “Was all of it a lie?”
I open my eyes and look at the woman who has turned my life upside down more than The Society ever could. Stone came out of nowhere, and hit me like a freight train, changing the man I used to be. Before her, I was just going through the motions, detached and keeping an apathetic wall around me, holding everyone at arm’s length. I didn’t allow anyone to truly witness my chaotic mind, because I thought the version the world demanded of me was better than reality. Aside from the guys, Stone was the only one that didn’t fall for my pretenses and accepted me just as I am. That was never a lie.
“No.”
“Tell me, Finn. Which part was real?” she insists.
“The part where I fell in love with you, Stone. That was real.”
A small, meek smile crests her lips before she presses them on my knuckles, leaving one gentle kiss on each one.
“Stone,” I croak on ragged breath, begging her to either leave me to my misery or end it entirely.
“Do you still love me?”
“With all my fucking heart,” I vow.
Another soft smile rises from her lips as she wraps my hand around her neck. My thumb instantly caresses that soft hollow of her throat as she leans in and places her hands over my broken heart.
“So, this is mine?” she asks, stroking my bare chest where my heart beats.
“Yes. Then, now, and always.”
She sweeps her tongue over her lower lip, as she continues to stare into my eyes.
“If that’s true, then it can’t lie to me. Not if you want mine in return.”
“Fuck, Stone, that’s all I want,” I reply in earnest, cupping her cheeks with both my hands, cradling her gorgeous face in them.
“Then prove it.”
“How?”
“By telling me the truth. All of it, Finn.”
I bow my head and shake it from left to right, knowing if I do as she says, then there is no turning back.
“I can’t.”
“I believe you.” She shrugs with a sad smile. “But you’re going to do it just the same.”
“Stone,” I try to beg, but she stops me by leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to my hungry lips.
My fingers instantly weave through her hair as hers remain perched on my chest, keeping me from diving into the kiss and losing myself in it. She breaks away and lowers her head to leave one small kiss where my heart resides.
“No more games, Finn. This is the only chance you have to tell me the truth. If you love me like you say you do, then you will fight whatever is keeping us apart.” My eyes go wide as she pulls my chin down, and as we are just a hair’s breadth away from each other, she whispers, “Don’t lose me, Finn.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Good. Then you won’t.”
“You say that now, but once you know the whole story, you’ll never look at me the same way.”
“Try me. Maybe I’ll surprise you.”
I grab the back of her head and kiss her one last time without letting her stop me. I plunge into her hot mouth, taking out everything I need to give me courage. When I finally find the bravery she seeks from me, I pull apart from her and stand up to my feet.
If I’m going to do this, then my mind can’t be clouded by her closeness.
“Before I say a word, just know that I’m still me—the man who will always love you, even when you can no longer look at me.”
“That won’t happen,” she replies assuredly, unaware of the atomic bomb I’m about to drop.
“Yes, it will. No one can love a murderer, Stone. Not even you.”