Page 138 of Crimson Flames

He shrugs, finishing up the last of his cone. “I guess so,” he says with his mouth still full. “You know I didn’t really have friends, it was just me and my parents and then you and Enya. I think part of me was trying to figure out why and how long it would take for you to tell me the truth.”

I take the final bite of my cone and dust off my hands. “So, why do you think I did it then?”

His dark hazel eyes sparkle when they look into mine. “Because you loved me. Even then when we were just kids and didn’t know what it meant. You loved me.”

I lean forward, propping my elbows on my thighs as I scoot closer. My chin rests on my palm while I stare at him. This boy I loved before I even knew what love was.

“I think you’re right,” I whisper. “Since the day I met you, I don’t think a minute went by where I didn’t love you. Even when I was angry, hurt, sad, or scared, you were still my first love. You always will be.”

“Come with me.” He stands, walking us through the town center. We toss a coin into the fountain in the middle of the square, and then he is pulling me to the meadow that rests on the side of a cliff. There is a large fuchsia plant that he brings me to with a blanket on the ground beside it.

It’s beautiful, the red and purple petals freshly bloomed. I loved that these were Enya’s favorites. I would cut them down to put in bouquets for her recitals, and Cillian would do the same.

It was always a bit of a joke with us because, since these flowers bloom upside down, the bouquets always had to have a backing that cradled the flower instead of allowing it to stand up like a rose.

Enya always had a knack for loving what was unique.

As my fingers trace over the flowers, they stop when I reach one in the center. On it hangs a black ring, curved along the edges to wrap around a single band with a red stone on either side.

My hand goes to my mouth as I let out a gasp and turn to find Cillian on one knee.

“Nessa, you were my first love, and I have known for quite a while now that this is where I wanted to ensure you would be my last. This field is where I would go every time I came back into town to check on you. I would walk through the flowers and let the smell of them remind me of every moment I held you close. I would stake out the town and watch you interact with everyone before going home. Then, I would perch up in that tree and keep watch over you at night.”

He points to a tree off in the distance, right behind where my old house is.

“This field is coated in the blood of anyone who ever tried to harm you while you slept and everyone I could get my hands on that ever wished you dead.”

My gaze travels across the flowers and a smile forms on my face as I realize what he did.

“I would slit their throats then toss them over the edge,” he says with that menacing smile I have truly come to love. “I would watch when the world became too much for you, and you would run out to these cliffs and scream into the wind. There were times where I stayed only a few feet away from you just in case you ever thought about jumping off.”

Thinking back, there were a few times I almost tried. What stopped me was the scent of him. Sunshine mixed with wild flowers. I would tell myself that if he was watching me from above, then he would be disappointed if I gave up.

I fall to my knees in front of him, tears in my eyes as he picks the ring from the flower, takes the one off of my finger, and threads them together so that they fit perfectly.

“Kai told me you were worried that there would be tension because of the rings.”

Cillian tilts my head with his finger. “When Boris proposed, I wasn’t jealous. I was mad at the jeweler for giving Boris your ring before they had the second piece ready. I wanted to make sure they fit together perfectly the first time you saw them. I’m sorry if I made you worry.”

A soft sob breaks from my lips as I wrap Cillian in a hug, knocking him to the ground as I squeeze him tight. His embrace wraps around me like a shield, surrounding me so that all I know is love.

“It’s perfect,” I breathe when I sit up, hovering over him. He smiles up at me, tucking some of my hair behind my ear.

“Yes, you are.”

Our lips meet again, and this time I relish in the feel of him against me. He tastes like every dark thought I have ever had and smells like sin. And still, his heart is gentle and kind just for me.

The way his hands roam my body tells me he is stillmyCillian. The boy I ran in these fields with, the one who held me when I cried and was there for me even when my own family wasn’t.

He isn’t the unhinged psychopath he tries to get others to believe he is. He is Cillian, and he ismine.

“Together,” I say into his mouth.

“Together,” he whispers back.

Maybe this is the only vow I truly need from them, the promise of forever in each other’s arms.

Chapter 57

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