Page 76 of Forbidden Lyrics

I feel guilty for putting him in that situation. I feel guilty for being dressed the way I am. I feel guilty for dragging him away from his shift at SeaBird and for being used as ammunition by his jerk of a brother.

Honestly, I feel like crap. I don’t know how to fix it.

With my arms folded in hopes of keeping the night chill at bay, I glance in his direction, then drop my chin to my chest. “I’m sorry––”

“You sure he didn’t touch you?” Gibson interrupts. His voice is low and gritty and makes me pause.

“What?”

He tucks his hands into his dark jeans, rocking back on his heels, reminding me of a little kid. Vulnerable. Anxious.

The combination guts me.

“Don’t make me say it again,” he begs.

I shake my head and inch closer to him.

“He didn’t touch me, Gibbs,” I whisper. “Promise.”

“You sure?”

My feet ache from the fancy shoes Trisha lent me as I close a bit more of the distance between us. “Why do you ask?”

“You shouldn’t have worn the leather skirt.”

Looking down at the dark, supple material covering my upper thighs, I sniff. “I know.” My entire body shakes as I dig my fingers into my biceps and choke back tears. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have come. It’s my fault that he came onto me. I should’ve known better––”

“That’s not what I meant––”

“Then what did you mean?” I breathe out, my guilt weighing heavily on my shoulders. What happened inside could’ve gone south so quickly, and it terrifies me.

Tortured, Gibson shakes his head. “I meant that it’s a lot harder to remind myself of our boundaries when you look like this. I can imagine the thoughts running through my brother’s head when he saw you walk in, and it makes me want to hurt him more. But none of that is your fault. Do you hear me?”

My lower lip trembles, but I stay silent.

“I’m serious, Dove. Even if he did touch you, or drug you, or any other despicable shit that I wouldn’t put past my brother, you did nothing wrong in there. And the fact that he even made you question that…” His breathing turns ragged. “I want to kill him, Dove.”

Again, his fists tighten, and he starts to pace, but I finally give in and reach for his wrist. He stops, his gaze landing on my small hand touching him before it snaps to mine.

“He doesn’t matter,” I soothe. “I’m right here. And I’m fine. I promise.”

“He could’ve––”

“But he didn’t. I’m fine,” I remind him.

Gibbs shakes his head but doesn’t bother to argue.

“Can I ask you something?” I whisper.

With a sigh, he looks defeated but answers me nonetheless. “What is it, Dove?”

“Why would you care how he was looking at me? Why would you care how anyone might look at me?” I lift his hand and inspect the damage from his sucker punch. His knuckles are raw and angry, making my guilt flare up all over again as I wait for his response.

This is all my fault.

“Because they shouldn’t be allowed to,” he rasps. “They don’t deserve you, either.”

His breath tickles the top of my head before I peek up at him and find him staring down at me with a reverence that almost brings me to my knees.

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