Page 39 of You Belong With Me

“Yeah,” is all he says in response.

I glance at him. “Thank you for getting him to release me.”

Lucas pulls his hand away and laughs under his breath, shaking his head. “You’re dangerous to me, Wyn.”

I pull my knees out of the sweater and sit with my legs crossed. “Oh,I’mthe dangerous one,” I tease. “The guys said you may have killed Gabriel if they hadn’t pulled you off him…”

“He touched you.”

My gaze lingers on his lips, and I can’t help but remember how they feel gliding across my bare skin. He has a way with that wicked mouth. It can transport me to heaven, but it can also destroy me.

“You’ve laid hands on me,” I point out. I shouldn’t have to remind him of the numerous times he’s inflicted pain on me. There was a large knife involved, at one point, even. My pussy pulses, remembering how he dominated me with that knife.

His expression grows cold. “You’re going to compare what I’ve done, to what Gabriel just did to you?”

He’s right. Maybe that isn’t fair. Pain in the interest of pleasure is world’s different from what just happened with Gabriel. He only wanted me to suffer. Still, I can’t bring myself to apologize.

I lean back on my palms. “Maybe I’m just not sophisticated enough to know the difference.”

He chuckles and shakes his head. “Your body knows the difference.”

Touché.

It really does.

I straighten and look him dead in the eye. “So why am I the dangerous one, hm?You haven’t told me.”

Whatever his reason, I can see he’s reluctant to tell me. He tears his gaze away from mine and looks back out at the ocean.

“I miss being out there,” he says reverently, side-stepping my question. “While I was growing up, the waves were the only thing that gave me solace. I could go out there, and all the other bullshit was…” He shakes his head, “...pointless. Nothing else mattered. It waspeaceful.”

I follow his gaze, trying to imagine a young, carefree Lucas out on his surfboard, living his best teenage rich-boy life. I bet he felt invincible.

“But sometimes…” He glances at me. “You can love something so much, it becomes dangerous.”

I have a feeling we’re not talking about surfing anymore, but I must be really dense because I’m still not getting it. How can you love something—or someone—too much?

“How can loving something be dangerous?” I ask, my breath hitching.

His gaze flicks over my face. “Loving something gives it the power to destroy you.”

We just stare at each other for a second while I try to absorb what he’s saying, waves crashing in the background. Is he talking about me? Us? Is he saying I have the power to destroy him somehow?

“But how? How could something you love destroy you?”

I don’t know why, exactly, but I’m actually afraid of his answer. My heart is hammering so hard, it’s all I can focus on. Lucas is clearly grappling with something and that can’t be a great sign.

I swallow, my eyes tracing his beautiful face, waiting for him to answer.

His gaze touches my face briefly, before darting away again. He shakes his head. “If you knew what I’ve done, just to touch you, Wyn—” He pushes out a breath. “There’s no way you’d ever forgive me…”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Lucas

I don’t knowwhy I’m admitting any of this to her. Not even Christian knows the true depths my addiction has sunk to. And it’s only getting worse. That desperate need to keep and protect Wyn atanycost is all-consuming…

I’m slowly slipping into insanity.

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