Page 12 of Forsaken Oath

“Seems like the storm’s movin’ fast. Won’t be too much longer.” I figure I’ve got maybe fifteen or twenty minutes to convince her to stay and have dinner with me when this system blows over. The feeling of being near her is too tempting. If she walks out of here, I’ll never know if it was the tornado or her that’s got my heart racing.

She fishes her phone out of a purse strapped across her chest, glances at the screen and mutters, “Fuck.”

“Now I know you’re not from around here. Everyone knows cell towers are shit out here. Just like most people know, Oak Creek operates on the excessive side of caution for the tornado warning sirens for damn near every storm in this town. It’s probably nothing. And if it isn’t, then there isn’t much we can do about that, can we? Can’t compete with Mother Nature. We’ll find out either way in about twenty minutes.”

She stares at me for a moment, her lips pursed into a frown. “If you’re trying to reassure me, you’re doing a terrible job.”

I chuckle, flipping my hat backward. “Yeah, I’ll give you that. Tell me a secret.”

“What? No. I don’t even know you.”

I drag my hand along my jaw, doing my best to curb the smirk. “That’s kind of the point. You don’t live here and neither do I. There’s no fear of running into one another at the grocery store or picking up takeout. One secret. Something that’s been dying to be set free.”

She rolls her eyes and thumps her head back against the wall, silent long enough that I think she won’t say anything. But then she sighs, swiping her tongue across her bottom lip, and I know I’ve got her.

“I wish my mother was dead.”

I don’t give her a second to freak out, to think I’m judging her. She went for broke on that secret, which means I’m gonna rise to the occasion too.

“My dad isn’t my biological father. And no one knows I know.” The weight of that fact feels a little lighter than it did five minutes ago. Like simply saying it out loud freed pieces of it.

The lights flicker and die, plunging us into darkness. Someone screams, and the people in the booth across from us start praying.

Well, how’s that for fucking timing? I just bet that someone upstairs is laughing their ass off at me right now.

“Fuck, we’re going to die,” she says on an exhale, her breath ragged.

“We’re not going to die, baby.” My voice comes out softer than I thought it would, but the words roll off my tongue anyway.

“Liar,” she breathes out, squeezing her eyes shut.

My hand finds the back of her neck, my fingers clasping lightly. “Impulsive? Sure,” I say with a shrug. “Asshole? Probably. But liar?” I pause, sucking my teeth before shaking myhead. “Not even a little bit. Some might even go so far as to say I’m too honest.”

“I know what you’re doing,” she pants, the words rushing out. “You’re trying to distract me from what’s going on, from my imagination filling in the blanks from movies.” Her words tumble out, tripping over one another as they pick up speed. “And I appreciate it. I really do. But this is terrible.Allof this is terrible. I’m going to leave the world with a laundry list of things I haven’t accomplished yet. A full bucket list. And the worst part is?—”

I do the only thing I can do. The only thing I know will snap her out of her head and bring her back down to Earth a little bit, bring her back to me. The only thing that feels right in the moment.

I kiss her.

6

ELOISE

His lips findmine in the darkness, cutting off my panicked rambling. For a second, I'm too stunned to react. But then my body takes over, responding to him instinctively, like it already knows him. Like it's been waiting for this exact moment.

I give myself three seconds to melt into the kiss, letting the sensation wash over me. It’s tentative at first, a gentle brush of his lips against mine, like he’s asking for permission. When I don’t pull away, he deepens the kiss, his hand on the back of my neck, moving my head to the side for the perfect angle.

Any other time and I would’ve fought for control. Slid into his lap and angledhisface the wayIwanted it.

But I can’t bring myself to do it, can’t bring myself to take control. Not today. Not when I’m so goddamn tired of holding everything together all the time. Of always being the strong one, the responsible one, the one who has to figure everything out.

So, for once in my life, I let go. I give in to the moment, the kiss, the man. I let someone else take the lead, even if it’s just for a few seconds, even if it’s with a complete stranger in the middle of a tornado.

For a few blissful moments, everything else fades away. The fear, the panic, the dread of what’s coming—it all disappears, overshadowed by the feel of his mouth on mine, the heat of his body pressed close.

In this stolen pocket of time, there is only his lips against mine.

A small gasp escapes as his tongue finds mine, sweeping into my mouth to tangle with mine. It’s a thorough exploration that sends tingles racing down my spine.

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