“Let’s talk about why no one ever seems to mention her.” My voice raising the more heated I got. “Or the fact that you give me these small glimpses of the real you. And I feel like I’m starting to understand the person that you are. Then you do things like this and push me away.”
I was erratic and strained. Cole was making me crazy.
The whites of his eyes gleamed so brightly now I wince under the intenseness. That beautiful face of his contorting in a fit of anger that matched my own. His hands ball at his sides as his chest heaves.
“You want to know the truth,” he roars, exhaling through his nose.
My hands slap at my thighs in exasperation. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
A storm clouds in then as his entire demeanor darkens.
“The truth is, Hardin was a test.” A hot chill breaks out over my skin, as his body overshadows my own. “And youfailed.”
His voice not once shaking as he says the words.
My nostrils flare, but he doesn’t break eye contact. Repeating the words softer now but no less hurtful. “We put you to the test, seeing if we could trust you and you failed, princess.”
I swallow, seeing the truth of his statement in his eyes.
“You bated me,” I rasp out, revulsion turning in my stomach like a blackened tar. Thick and waxy.
Cole’s truthfulness bruising me once again. My pride and self-worth would be nonexistent if I continued down this path.
The muscles in his cheeks sink. “My turn. Why did you go out with Corn Pop?”
Because you couldn’t tell me what we were.
I roll my eyes, stifling a laugh. “Why do you care?”
He turns his back to me, running his hand through his hair. My lips pull to one side when he turns back around.
“I care because you shouldn’t be with him.” His voice dropping, a little more desperate.
“Who should I be with then?” I yell, still irate.
He radiated tension. The warmth from the closeness of his body hit me strongly. His chest heaving up and down.
Long seconds tick by as the tension between us grows and then… it snaps.
Cole leans down reaching, as his mouth crashes onto mine. His lips bullish and forceful. Sparks sizzle across my skin as it warms. It takes everything in me to push him away, but I do. Pulling away forcefully.
“Don’t,” I whisper on a shaky breath when his hands grab at my jaw holding me in place. His face inches from mine.
My head and my heart tugging at two completely different strings.
“You don’t get to do that,” I say, voice cracking. I wasn’t sure if I was pleading with him or myself at this point.
Either way, I would still lose.
“You don’t get to hide behind this arrogance with me like you do with everyone else. I’mnoteveryone else.” I pause, catching my breath. “You don’t—sometimes it’s like…” I can’t stomach finishing my thought.
His irises darken. “Say it.”
I pull out of his hold, and he lets me. Giving me the space I needed to clear my muddled brain.
“I’m afraid of the dark.” My heart beating rapidly like an unsteady melody in my chest at the confession. “Did you know that? After what happened in the barn, it’s hard to close my eyes some nights because all I see are those flames again.”
He looks past me. A vein along his temple throbbing.