He raises a brow. “I didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t have to. I can see it in your eyes that you plan to torture Jonah some more in prison, maybe take it to the next level and kill him.”
“He doesn’t deserve death yet, and he won’t for the following, say, thirty years. He’ll wish for it, though, countless times a day.”
I wince, and he notices, because his eyes narrow. “Do you have an objection?”
“I just…find all of this hard to get used to. You already got all my and the other girls’ photos from Jonah and burned them. He’s already been locked up for his crimes. He’s lost his reputation and freedom. Shouldn’t that suffice?”
“No. He’ll have to lose his dignity and his mind, and even that won’t be enough payment for how he made you suffer. He stripped away your power, so I’m confiscating his in return. He’ll be trapped in that prison for eternity without being able to fight his way out. Just like he made you feel trapped in your own body.”
The dark contrast of his revenge chills me, and my lips quiver when I speak. “Not sure if I should be touched or scared.”
“Probably both.”
I smile. “You should’ve said touched.”
His fingers thread with mine, splaying out on my chest so that he’s feeling my heartbeat. “I’m not a nice man, Cecily. I won’t pretend otherwise, or I’d be doing you and myself a disservice. What I am, however, is someone who’ll slaughter your demons one by one until you’re finally free of them. I’ll touch your scars until you normalize them and can live with them, because they’re what makes you who you are.”
Holy…
I’m surprised my heart doesn’t spill out onto the ground, crawl at his feet, and vanish right in front of those ethereal eyes.
No one has ever told me this, and the fact that it’s coming from a harsh man like Jeremy makes it tenfold worse for my health.
“I thought you hated me,” I murmur in a vulnerable voice that I loathe to the core.
Why is he able to tug, shove, and break my heartstrings with mere words?
Jeremy draws circles in my hair, soothing, gentle circles that trigger a map of shivers on my skin. It’s even more intense when he’s staring down at me with a dark look. “You hated me, too.”
“You gave me no choice.”
“Hate is a feeling. In fact, it’s probably the strongest of them all. The first time we met in that club, something had your panties in a twist.”
I narrow my eyes. “You were an overbearing, controlling prick, and I despised you to the core. You were at the top of my very short ‘I want to poke their eyes out’ list, knocking Remi from his spot.”
“Do you despise Remi?”
“Of course not, but he can be a provocative twat sometimes.” I sigh. “He’s the funniest ever, though, so he gets a pass.”
“Funniest ever,” he repeats with an edge to his voice, his movements losing their natural flow. “Is that an exaggeration?”
“If I say no, will you get any ideas about cutting off his tongue?” I make a face, and he narrows his eyes.
“Isit a no?”
“Jeremy!” I laugh. “Seriously, tone it down. Remi and I were basically raised together, and he’s like my brother.”
“You have an awful lot of non-biologically related brothers. Your heart is so big to fitallof these people.”
“Was that sarcasm?”
He glares.
“I’ll take that as a no. And really, we’ve been friends since we were, like, in nappies. Remi, Bran, and Creigh will always be brothers to me.”
“You skipped one on the list. Landon. Why isn’t he a brother, hmm?”