Page 105 of Corrupt Me

I faced the man I loved, backing farther into the room. “What did you want to tell me?” I asked, recalling the words he never finished before my mind and body were utterly consumed by him.

He didn’t let me go far, reaching for my hand and drawing me into him. His eyes held a quiet determination, and withouta word, I melted into him like it was the only place I’d ever belonged.

In his embrace, I felt the last of the tension leave him, replaced by something else entirely—something warmer, softer. He buried his face in my hair, inhaling my scent, grounding himself in my warmth, my presence. I leaned back, my hands tracing along his shoulders. His lingering gaze held such tenderness it made my heart ache.

Slowly, almost reverently, he leaned down and brushed his mouth against mine. “I was going to tell you that I love you.”

Emotion clogged my throat, and my heart tripped in my chest. I’d longed to hear him confess these three words to me for years and not as a little sister. That’s where my mind and heart were confused. “I know. I love you too.”

Tristan shook his head as his fingers grazed my cheek. “No. I’m trying to tell you that I’minlove with you, Everly Scott.”

twenty-nine

Iblinked. Were my ears hearing what I wanted to hear? What I yearned to hear? And why did he sound so perplexed about it? “For how long?” I asked, my eyes stuck on his. I wanted…needed him to say it. It was the only way I would believe what I heard was real.

“You know,” he said vaguely, toying with his lip ring and looking a bit uncomfortable, something Tristan rarely ever appeared, his cool exterior rattled.

I shook my head. “How long, Tristan?” I demanded, not letting him off the hook easily.

“Always,” he confessed softly.

“Why did you make me wait so long then?” I whispered, my eyes blurring with tears.

His arms immediately went around me. Strong. Dependable. Warm. Tough. Gentle when needed. Everything Tristan represented. “Because you weren’t mine.”

I rubbed my cheek against his chest, my arms squeezing around him. I never wanted him to let me go. “I am now.”

He started to pull away, but I wouldn’t let him. “Ever, this doesn’t change?—”

I didn’t want to hear him make excuses of why we couldn’t be together, not after seconds ago having declared his love. Not after what happened in the elevator. I wanted to savor the excited buzz soaring inside me at hearing he loved me, so I kissed him.

He didn’t push me away but opened for me. “Ever, we can’t?—”

I kissed him again. And I would keep kissing this man until he relinquished his stubbornness and accepted that we were meant to be together. “I love you, Tristan. I’ve loved you my whole life.”

This time, his lips found mine. Tristan’s hand dove to the back of my neck, holding me against him as he deepened what I started. He kissed me like he was starved. Like he’d lost something precious to him and just found it. Like he loved me.

How could he kiss me like that and think things wouldn’t change between us?

I drew back. “Why can’t it be enough?” I asked, my voice full of a frightening amount of hope. Tristan had the power to crush my heart, to destroy me. “Do you really believe you can stay away from me knowing I’m in love with you?”

His eyebrows knitted together as the backs of his knuckles grazed my chin. The blue in his eyes altered, turning into a mournful shade. “I’ve never wanted to be someone’s person. I never wanted someone to be mine…until you.” He’d always been a casual guy. And that applied to most aspects of his life, including girls.

“Why does that make you so sad?”

“You know why,” he retorted.

My mouth went dry. Preston. “Are you really going to let me go because of your brother? He already knows we slept together.”

His hands fell away from my face, dropping to his side. “No matter what I do or say, someone gets hurt. It isn’t just Preston. I’m dangerous. Being with me will only put you in harm’s way. I won’t do that. The people I associate with…let’s just say they don’t hang out at the country club on the weekends. My brother might be an idiot and gets himself in trouble, but I’m the guy who creates the trouble.”

I frowned, my heart racing for different reasons than moments ago. “No one said this would be easy. When will you stop putting everyone’s feelings before yours and think about what you want?”

Inhaling sharply, he exhaled with a scoff. “You don’t think I’ve been selfish. I might have been protecting you, but forcing you to break up with my brother was the most selfish thing I’ve ever done. I wanted you to leave him before I found out about his gambling problems.” His chest heaved as he scowled down at me.

I couldn’t believe we were arguing. A minute ago, he was telling me he loved me, and now he was saying we couldn’t be together. “You got what you wanted, yet you’re still pushing me away. You can see how that can be confusing.”

“Ever.” He sighed, scrubbing a hand down his face. “This isn’t how it was supposed to happen.”

---