I blinked. “What? No, wait. Never mind. You’re trying to distract me.”
He lifted a pierced brow. “Why would I want to do that?”
“Because you don’t want to answer my question.”
“What was the question?”
“How do you know my fucking sleeping habits so well?”
He scowled, his mouth quirked up at the corner. “I don’t remember you asking that question.”
“Ink!”
“Okay, fine.” He threw his hands in the air. “Because I’ve been here.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve been here,” his gaze met mine, “in your room while you sleep.”
“You what?” My mind couldn’t make sense of it. This entire conversation made no fucking sense.
Ink rubbed the back of his neck, his dark hair falling and covering his eyes. “Remember that night you had that nightmare, the night Onyx and I rushed in here and found you on the ground?”
“Yeah.” How could I forget?
He straightened, squaring his shoulders as his gaze met mine. “I couldn’t take it, Neon. I couldn’t stand the thought of you being scared while you were under the same roof as me. It didn’t feel right.”
“So, you what?” I crossed my arms. “You slip shit in my drinks so I could sleep?”
He scoffed. “Fuck, no. I might be reckless, but I’m not stupid.”
“That’s debatable.”
“Anyway. After that night, I kinda came in here to sit with you.”
My jaw gaped in disbelief. “You what?”
He stared at me, unblinking.
“Oh, my God, Ink. I can’t believe you did that. You invaded my privacy.”
“I’m sorry, okay? I just—no, wait.” He paused, his brows slanted inward like he just had a motherfucking epiphany. “You know what? I’m not sorry. I won’t apologize.”
“Like fuck, you won’t. Are you telling me you came into my room to watch me sleep like some fucking psycho?”
“No.” He stepped closer, newly lit determination beaming from his brown irises. “I came in here to make sure you don’t wake up scared again. I won’t apologize for that, Neon. I won’t apologize for caring so damn much that I’d wait outside this motherfucking door until you’ve fallen asleep so I could come in here and sit beside your bed to make sure you never feel alone again.” He came so close his six-foot two body towered over me, his broad shoulders casing me in. The strong scent of sandalwood enveloped me, and I was suddenly pinned on the spot, unable to move. “I told you, I’m not going anywhere. I’m not backing off. I know I won’t ever be able to make things right for you, but I sure as fuck will die trying.”
My heart hiccupped, and I was trapped under his intense stare, the look in his eyes tearing through the ice in my veins.
“Why?” I murmured.
He reached out, and one would think I’d pull away because that was all I’d ever done when it came to him. Pulling away, running, refusing to accept the fact that maybe…just maybe he really fucking cared. But this time I couldn’t. I didn’t want to.
His palm cupped my cheek, his touch gentle. Caring. “Because one day you will be mine. Whether it’s now, in a year, ten years, or fucking fifty years. I don’t care how long it takes, but I will never stop. You hear me?” His thumb caressed my skin, and for the first time since everything happened, I appreciated another’s touch.Histouch. It felt good. The warmth, the comfort, it radiated through my bones. It triggered an emotion in me that made a tear slip down my cheek.
With his thumb, he wiped at the tear, his own eyes screaming with sorrow—my sorrow. My pain. I saw it. I saw it in the way he looked at me. It was there in the earthy hues of his irises, the anguish he felt for me…becauseof me.
“I hate it when you cry, Neon.”