Page 6 of Gathered Sparkle

Something deep,terrifying.But at the same time, it’s something that makes me want to fall.

His hand falls from my throat to my hip, and I glance down, noticing his bare feet on the dirty pavement and the little smiley face tattoo grinning up at me. A huff of laughter escapes me.

“What would you have done if they’d had me? I know you can pummel a guy, but at least you could’ve put on a shirt to do it.”

“A shirt would’ve slowed me down,” he states like all of this is no big deal and gives me his signature grin. “Besides, gotta give you something nice to look at while I save the day.”

“I mean it. There could’ve been guns. What would you have done?”

I didn’t even tell him what he was up against.He went in blind.

The thought makes my stomach twist, the sharp stab of guilt settling deep.

I could’ve lost him.

But Sylus doesn’t miss a beat. “Shield you.”

“With what?”

“My body.” He shrugs like it’s nothing. Like he didn’t just admit he’d put himself between a bullet and me. “You still don’t get it, do you?” His gaze softens as it holds mine, his thumb on my hip, stroking circles on the sliver of skin between my shirt and the waistband of my jeans. I barely feel it. I can’t feelanything past the panic rising in my throat. “I would die for you, Sparkle. Literally.”

The world tilts.

Something inside me fractures. Not just from his words but from how easily he says them. Like it’s not even a question, and he’s already made his peace with it.

My hands clench on his chest, gripping him harder because suddenly I can’t fucking breathe. “I don’t want anybody to ever fucking die for me again.”

It’s not a request.

It’s a fucking plea.

My vision blurs, my body trembles, and my lungs tighten like I’m suffocating from something in the past—on memories of screeching tires, the smell of blood, and losing what I couldn’t survive losing.

“Do you hear me?” My voice cracks, but I don’t care.

I need him to understand.

Sylus blinks before his eyes widen, and I watch as the understanding clicks into place. “Okay. I won’t die for you.” Slowly, he lifts a hand, brushing his thumb across my cheek. “Promise. Whatever you need, baby.”

This fierce,recklessdevotion. It’s too much. Too heavy. Too overwhelming. It makes me want to recoil before I lose him too.

Because love never stays.

Because love once cost me everything.

But his words wrap around me as much as his presence does.

And I decide.

For the first time, I fucking decide.

To drop my walls.

To trust him.

I exhale and let myself lean into him. And instead of falling, I feel what it’s like to be caught.

Because he’s got me.

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