Page 28 of Be Mine

Yet love persists where it has been.

A fleeting touch, a lasting mark,

A flame that glows in endless dark.

Though moments fade, the heart will bind,

For love outlives the chains of time.

In the box is a pendant. A small hourglass made of black titanium that hangs on a white gold chain. The hourglass is filled with a ruby red fluid that flows every time you tip it.

“Is this…?”

“Blood? Yes. But don’t worry, it’s mine.” He smirks.

“You wrote a poem and gave me an hourglass with your blood?” I raise a brow at him.

He looks satisfied with himself.

The fact that he did this makes me feel some kind of way and I know my moral compass is skewed if I’m finding gifts of blood and murder endearing. But I’ve never been right in the head, and this is just further proof.

“It's beautiful. Thank you.”

He draws me closer to him, running his nose through my hair, letting his hands drift languidly up and down my naked back.

“I know I can’t keep you here forever, Frankie,” he whispers softly, inhaling my scent. My heart is hammering against my rib cage as he speaks because I don’t know which way is up anymore. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m going to try.”

Pulling back, he almost looks vulnerable right now.

“Noah, I have a job and a life. You drugged and kidnapped me.”

“Semantics.” He brushes it off, running his thumb along my pulse before settling his hand on my collarbone. He’s so big it nearly spans the width of my chest.

“It's pretty important details.” I remind him. Criminal offenses, actually, and on top of everything else, they would lock him away for multiple lifetimes.

His hand swallows my throat, bringing my face closer to him, and when our lips meet, the kiss is brimming with emotion and unspoken words. It’s unhurried, every sweep of our tongue, every press of our lips purposeful. It’s the kiss that you read about in books, and with every tilt of my head, with every soft sigh, with every clutch of our hands pulling each other closer, I wonder if this kiss means goodbye.

Noah pulls away first. “We should get ready to go to the police station.” He’s guarded now; the wall is back up. A pang of remorse hits me in the chest like a hot iron, expanding until it takes up too much space.

Untangling our limbs, he slips me off him, paying no attention to the gift box and card between us that falls to the floor. I watch his naked form as he rises and riffles around in his drawers for some clothes, silently walking out and into the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind him.

Why does this feel like my heart is breaking, or that maybe I just broke his, too?

Chapter Nineteen

Frankie

The drive to the station is quiet. No music to fill the tension-riddled air between us. Even Cosmos in his carrier hasn’t made a peep. I didn’t ask questions when Noah loaded my bag and the cat’s stuff into the truck. I couldn’t speak around the lump that was lodged in my throat.

My eyes continually drift over to him in the driver’s seat, silent and seemingly composed while a turbulent sea rocks within me.

“What should I say?” I whisper. My fucking heart is about to give out right now, and I’m sweating so bad I reek of guilt.

“Tell them what you want.”What? He’s not going to go in there and hand himself over, is he?

“Noah…”

Pulling into an empty spot, he slams the truck in park. He doesn’t move. Doesn’t turn to look at me.

---