Page 110 of Undeniable

Then he moved so quickly that I didn’t realize what he was doing until my hair was tightly fisted in his hand, and he tilted my head back even farther. There was a bite of pain on my scalp, but all I could see was him.

His eyes roamed over my face, and there was an intense, unrelenting spark set behind the blue.

“Stop trying to deny it. I love you, Killer. I always have.”

His grip didn’t loosen when he leaned down to kiss me. But before he could, I rushed out the words, “I love you, too.”

He drew back enough that I saw his startled expression. Almost like he hadn’t expected me to say it back. But the words were like a relief when I finally set them free. They’d been tumbling around inside of me for so long and I was tired of carrying them.

Most of the time, they’d been a painful reminder of everything we could’ve had—could’ve been—yet unceremoniously lost. But telling James released all that pain and the smile he graced me with made me want to say it over and over again.

“And I’m not trying to deny it.”

His smile widened, and his nose brushed against mine. “Good, because what we have—what we are—is undeniable.”

Then he kissed me and we were both too swept up in each other. His hands cupped my ass, and he lifted me from the ground. My legs automatically wrapped around his waist and I tangled my fingers through his hair as his hands memorized my every curve.

“Okay, look, I know it’s your birthday,” Shelby’s voice broke through our little bubble and I smiled against James’s mouth. “But if you could dismount James, that would be super great.”

Reluctantly, I slipped from James’s arms and held up my middle finger to Shelby, who blew me a kiss. But when I noticed my brother approaching us, my smile immediately dropped. James noticed the change in my expression and looked over his shoulder. His features also hardened.

When Forrest showed up, we hadn’t immediately kicked him out or asked him to leave. Although a part of me wanted to, I also wasn’t prepared to deal with it. I was still reeling from learning what he’d done to us, and I wanted to focus on celebrating.

There was hesitance in each of Forrest’s steps.

“I’m uh—” Forrest stuttered and glanced between me and James. “I owe you both an apology for my part in everything that happened. I cannot tell you how truly sorry I am.”

James took a step closer to me and gently brushed my hair over my shoulder to clasp the back of my neck in his strong palm. It grounded something in me, and I appreciated the reassurance.

I took a deep breath, trying to choose my words carefully, and said, “I appreciate your apology, but the ramifications of what you and Brendon did… I’m going to need more than a few hours to wrap my head around it. And I’m going to especially need more than that to forgive you.”

He was my brother, my twin, and I loved him. I couldn’t forgive him just because, but I would eventually. What he had done couldn’t be undone, and it completely changed the course of my life.

Forrest nodded and then glanced at James, who was brimming with anger. I could feel it radiating through him, and I worried the two might come to blows. Although I didn’t think Forrest would fight back. He knew he deserved whatever he had coming to him.

“Thank you for the apology, but don’t expect me to forgive you anytime soon. I’m not going to downplay my role in fucking up my own relationship with Ivy thirteen years ago but without your interference…”

He shook his head and glanced down at me, the regret heavy in his eyes.

Without looking away from me, James said, “I would give anything for those thirteen years back.”

“I understand… umm… well, I’ve gotta be at the station early, so I will see you both… around.”

He gave us both weak smiles and headed toward his truck. Luke and Hazel approached behind him, both giving us wary looks. I donned the best smile I could muster.

“We should probably head out. I’ve gotta get my pregnant wife home,” Luke said with an arm slung over Hazel’s shoulder.

Glancing down at my watch, I hadn’t even realized it was pushing two in the morning and was way later than I expected any of us to be there.

“I didn’t realize how late it was. We should probably start packing up.”

We all pitched in, and before too long, the fire was extinguished and the coolers were packed in the back of Reed’s SUV.

Devon ended up electing to ride back to the city with Piper instead of with Luke and Hazel, who were the first ones gone. And thankfully, Josh noticed my hesitation as I pulled my keys from my purse and glanced between my car and James’s truck.

“I’ll drive it home,” he said, taking the keys from my hands. “I’ll leave it at your place. I’m sure James wouldn’t mind driving you home.”

I didn’t even have a chance to argue or voice the witty comeback that was poised on my tongue before James tossed an arm around my shoulders and murmured his appreciation to Josh. He tucked me closer and silenced my argument with a quick kiss.

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