Page 56 of Sweetest Hate

My fingers hovered over the screen while I debated how to answer.

"Little mouse." A shadow covered my feet, and I startled at the roughened voice I never expected to hear again.

Lifting my head slowly, I froze when I came face to face with the last person I thought I'd see today or any other. Unable to think, much less talk, I simply stared as I tried to gather my thoughts.

Arsen stood there, hands shoved into a pair of stone-washed jeans, wearing a black t-shirt that hugged his body in all the right ways. His midnight hair was a tousled mess of careless waves, and he looked tired. Still, for someone who had broken my heart, he looked better than he should. If I was honest, I wanted him to be as miserable as I was.

Arsen sighed when I didn't respond. "Can we talk?"

Anger and hurt spun a confusing web in my chest, leaving an ache that he'd caused by leaving without so much as a goodbye. Now he wanted to talk? What was there to talk about?

"What are you doing here, Arsen?" I whispered. "Shouldn't you be in North Carolina?"

He rubbed his eyes, shadows looming beneath his steely gaze. "I never left Georgia."

Stunned, I squinted. "Why not?"

If he hadn't left Georgia, I wondered where he'd spent the last few days.

Arsen stepped toward me to move out of the way of two men dressed in slacks and tweed jackets. His closeness brought the scent of his earth and spice body wash that I'd missed. Even though it had only been a few days since the last time I'd breathed him in, it had felt like an eternity.

He gazed down at me, a hint of determination in his eyes. "That job was taking me four hundred and five miles away from you."

"Four hundred and…" I paused. "Did you look it up?"

Arsen laughed, but the sound was quiet and steeped in exhaustion. "I might have. Are you just ignoring the 'away from you' part?"

"Maybe." I licked my lips, and his gaze dipped, sharpening on my mouth. Even dead on his feet, Arsen had the ability to set my body on fire with a single look. I needed to focus, so I crossed my arms over my chest and straightened my back. "Why are you really here?"

"I'm not leaving," Arsen answered as he met my eyes again.

That was it? "I don't understand. You have a great job waiting for you in North Carolina."

Arsen shrugged. "Andyouare here. There are jobs everywhere, Kellan." He reached out, trailing a finger down my arm, causing the hairs to stand upright. "Why would I leave for a job I don't even want any more when what I need is right here, standing in front of me. There are other jobs," he repeated and took a deep breath, letting it out in a drawn-out rasp. "But you, little mouse. There's only one you."

I swallowed hard as I stared up at him, searching his features, sensing his sincerity. "And the thing with Quinn?"

Arsen shook his head. "As far as I'm concerned there was no thing with Quinn. I believe you. You say it wasn't the same, and even if it was—"

"It wasn't," I blurted, and his gaze swept over my face as he nodded. "But, if you are staying just because of me"—I swallowed hard—"You can't do that, Arsen."

Arsen's slashing dark brows both arched. "Actually, I can and already did. I called them from the gas station's parking lot in Holloway and turned down the job. When I say I didn't make it out of Georgia, I didn't even make it ten miles down the road when I left."

I cleared my throat as hope ignited in my chest. "What about the plan to save money for your shop some day?"

Arsen shrugged. "That's not changing, it just might take a little longer." He eyes laser-focused on mine. "Nothing wrong with a new plan, Kellan, especially if it involves me getting to keep you."

My breathing stuttered. "To be clear. When you say to keep me…"

He cocked his head, stare locked on mine. "You aren't replaceable. I wouldn't even try. So that means I'll do whatever I have to if it means you're mine."

"I don't…" I shook my head in disbelief. "Really?"

Arsen's throat bobbed, and he reached down and took my hand. "Nothing in my life has ever been this real to me. I haven't felt the way I do when I'm around you. Ever."

"That wasn't always a good thing. As I recall, you hated me for a while." I allowed a small smile, and his lips tilted in a crooked grin that made my knees wobble like a newborn colt.

Arsen shook his head slowly, a hushed chuckle whispering through his lips. "I never hated you, little mouse. I wanted you the moment I set eyes on you. But I thought you would be another person who saw me as…not enough. When you said being with me was a mistake—"

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