Page 54 of The Edge of Never

His expression was darker than I’d ever seen it before. It scared me a little.

“Ye’re better off withoot her. Ye dinnae need someone who doesnae care aboot ye or yer feelings or how something so fucking tragic would affect ye. Sienna’s a selfish cunt. She used ye tae get what she wanted and left ye alone when ye needed her the most. And as for her husband, he’s no better than her. They both took advantage of ye. Am sorry ye’ve had tae deal with it all by yerself, Kit. It’s no right. Ye deserve better.”

I should have known Thane wouldn’t mince words. And I couldn’t say he was wrong, either.

“Do I?”

His expression grew very serious.

I bit the inside of my cheek when he caught my chin between his fingers.

“Aye, ye fucking dae and dinnae let anyone tell ye otherwise.”

“Not even you?”

“Especially no me.”

I pressed my hand to his chest.

“Thank you.”

“Why ye thanking me?”

A smile played on my lips.

“For listening and for not judging me. It’s helped more than you know.”

“Am no gonnae judge yer actions when ye were suffering and no one else cared enough tae help ye. They preyed upon ye instead. That’s no fucking okay. The only people am judging are those cunts who used ye. I dinnae blame ye for wanting tae get away from their shite. They thought it was okay tae abuse yer friendship… am fucking mad anyone would treat ye that way.”

The fact he sounded so incensed on my behalf made my chest ache. Thane had no reason to defend me. I would say he barely knew me, but I’d shared a lot about myself with him. A lot more than most people knew.

“You’re mad about it even though you don’t like me?”

“Dinnae have tae like someone tae know they’ve been mistreated.” His eyes searched my face for a moment. “But I dinnae dislike ye, Kit. Ye just…”

“Wind you up the wrong way?”

“Aye.”

I grinned through my tears.

“I don’t dislike you either, you know.”

His sharp expression softened. I tried not to hold my breath when he wiped my face with his thumb.

“No? Ye havnae heard mah story yet.”

“Are you going to tell me?”

“Am thinking aboot it.”

My fingers dug into his chest.

“You don’t have to. I’m not expecting anything just because I shared mine with you.”

He nodded slowly, his thumb still brushing over my cheek. The way he touched me had my heart pumping harder. It was so gentle and caring. My fucking soul was melting for him at this point. Fuck, I had it bad for this man. There were so many reasons I shouldn’t be thinking this way after what just transpired, but I couldn’t deny my feelings.

“Ye seem better for talking aboot it.”

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