Page 26 of Amnesty

“She said you don’t love me.”

My reaction was physical. The idea was so preposterous I actually stopped walking and tugged Am around. “Are you kidding me?”

She shook her head, staring down into her cup. “She said it. Said you loved Sadie, not me.”

I laughed, but it was a cold, humorless sound. The anger those stupid words incited in me was white hot and piercing. So much it burned my chest. On impulse, I tipped the cup back and downed the rest of the weak wine, hoping the chilled liquid would dilute the heat in me.

It didn’t work.

“And you believed her,” I said, monotone. I wasn’t sure what was worse—the words the bitch muttered or the fact that Amnesia considered them.

“No,” she said quickly. Then I felt her relent. “I didn’t want to. I’m just so confused.”

Unable to be mad at her, I pulled her in, enclosing her against my chest, using my arms to block the wind. Am pressed close, so close I felt the rise and fall of her chest with every breath, the steady beat of her heart.

“I know you are,” I said. “That’s why I didn’t want to push. But dammit, Am. If I had known this was the shit that woman said to you, I would have put a stop to it that very second.”

Her face lifted. The tip of her nose was pink from the wind. “You can’t put a stop to my own thoughts, Eddie.”

“The hell I can’t,” I growled and claimed her mouth fiercely.

I kissed her with possession I always tried to hold back. I went at her full throttle, wanting her to feel the intensity with which I loved her, the obsession she made me feel. It was scary to feel with so much force, to love with more than I was.

I’d always held some of that back, not because I thought it would scare her, but because it was a fucking lot to process. I didn’t want her to feel responsible for any of my feelings. They were mine and mine alone. It wasn’t her job to look after them or me, but it sure as hell was my job to make sure she knew I loved her.

The way her body drooped in my arms made satisfaction hum in the back of my throat. It vibrated my tongue as I rubbed it against hers, making her fingertips dig into my biceps. Her head fell back. I used my palm to cradle it, keeping it at the perfect angle so I could possess all of her mouth. I kissed hungrily, no tease, no play… just full-on desire.

A flush built in my toes and slowly moved up my legs, past my stomach, and into my chest. My stomach felt jittery, my brain thick with fog.

At last when I lifted my head, my lips felt damp and swollen. It took several seconds for my vision to adjust.

“Eddie,” Am whispered, breathless.

In response, I lifted an eyebrow, gazing down at her equally puffy mouth.

“Well, maybe… you can,” she said, still partly winded.

Feeling pretty full of myself, I smirked. Putting my fingers beneath her chin, I made sure she was looking at me. “What she said was a lie. Something meant to hurt you because it was all she had left.”

“You said yourself you think I’m not Sadie.”

“You’re missing the point, baby,” I said.

She frowned.

I picked her up, her legs automatically wrapping around my waist. When her ankles hooked together at my back, deep possession unleashed within me. Locking my arms around her torso, I stared her straight in the eyes.

“I love you. I love you so much I wonder how I breathed before I fished you out of this lake. So much you occupy about eighty percent of my thoughts and all of my dreams. I don’t give a flying fuck if you’re Sadie. I don’t care if you’re the queen of fucking England. It doesn’t matter where you came from or what your name used to be. Please understand that, Amnesia.” I leaned my forehead against hers, felt her indrawn breath. “Understand that you’re mine.”

“You really don’t care?” There was a bright sheen to her eyes, tears she held from spilling over.

“I care because you do, but not because it will change anything between us.”

One of the tears finally fell. I watched it glisten a path down her freckled cheek and curve under her jawline. Leaning forward, I licked the moisture, trailing up to gently kiss the corner of her eye.

“I love you, Eddie. I don’t even need every memory I ever had to know I’ve never loved anyone like this before.”

“That’s my girl,” I said and kissed her.

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