Page 51 of I Blame the Rival

“You don’t want to be a part of this family.” I pull back, blinking at her blurry outline, “We’re no good.I’mno good.”

She shakes her head, gripping my face with her hands.

“Don’t say that.”

“It’s true, though.”

Another tear leaks out, dripping from my nose to my lips, “You don’t want me, Flower. I’m damaged goods.”

Silence falls between us as my tears continue to fall. Lacey hasn’t let go of me, her hands clutching my face like it’s the only thing holding me together.

“Maybe you’re right.” She swallows, brushing away the damp streaks on my cheeks, “Maybe you are damaged.”

I stare at her, tracing every inch of her face with an invisible brush to commit it to memory. There’s an ache in my body that wasn’t there before, but I shove it aside.

At the end of the day, my flower deserves someone who doesn’t have the darkness of abuse tailing alongside them. Someone whose family isn’t held together by misguided lies and misshapen scars.

She deserves a hero and that is the one thing I will never be.

Lacey leans forward and presses her sweet lips to mine. I freeze, tasting the salty residue of my tears, and wait for her to say goodbye.

She pulls back and gives me a sad smile, “But you’re perfectly damaged for me.”

Chapter 11

Lacey

I used to think being the broken girl meant I was destined to be alone.

Being made of pieces instead of a whole means that when it comes to love, I no longer have a heart to give. Only fragments, sharp edges of the decisions I’ve made and the regrets I will always carry.

But now, holding Skylar in my arms, I realize that you don’t need to be complete to love someone. You just need enough pieces to fill the empty spaces between the ones they are missing.

Skylar closes his eyes and slumps against me, the wind knocked out of his sails. I gently comb my nails through his hair, feeling the delicate strands part for my fingers.

“You have really soft hair.” I murmur the words in his ear, hoping for a huff of laughter. He stays silent, but thankfully his ragged breathing starts to slow.

I play with his hair some more, not because I think it’s helping, but because it’s too pretty not to play with. Skylar shivers when my fingers graze the back of his neck and I can’t stop the jolt of lust that races through me. Our bodies are completely intertwined, and with every inhale, I can feel Skylar’s chest pressed tight against my mine.

On every exhale, the unbreakable clasp of his hands.

“I use conditioner.” He whispers against my skin, sending goosebumps in every direction. I clutch him tighter, the air around us growing thick with a different kind of tension.

Skylar nuzzles my neck gently and I close my eyes as desire washes over me. My nails dig into his shoulder when he presses a kiss against my throat.

“I don’t deserve you.”

“Yes. You do.”

He shakes his head before planting another kiss on my neck, slowly creeping his way upward.

“If I was strong, I would drive you home and never look back.” He pauses to skim his lips along my jawline, “I would let you run as far away from me as possible.”

Heat pools between my legs and a whimper escapes my mouth.

“Don’t be strong then.”

His tongue sneaks out to lick the sensitive skin beneath my ear. I gasp, arching into him and he groans softly.

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