Page 58 of The Cursed

I wanted more of it, but all at once I wanted him to hold me too. That was the conflict of our love?the constant push and pull of two people who shouldn't work?but somehow did.

"I'm saying that your mistake was stabbingme.That blade was made for you," he said, forcing me to drop my gaze to the tip of the knife where it touched me.

"What does that—"

"I bound our lives together when I brought you back, Willow. If you die, I will follow," he answered, the words sitting between us as he waited. Waited for me to choose. “And this is how you die.”

The martyrdom I'd been raised to want, or a life with him at my side.

"They sent you here knowing you would very likely die," he said. I couldn't even muster the energy to argue, considering we'd all known the odds were not in my favor. Success meant death, and none of them had any reason to believe that Gray cared about me enough to spare my life after an attempt on his. "You are worth so much more than a fucking sacrifice, Willow. I've failed you if you don't understand that."

I moved the knife in my hand, watching as he flinched toward me when he thought I would plunge it into my own heart. "You would let me do this? Even knowing you would die too?" I asked, needing the answer to his question like I needed my next breath.

I couldn't wrap my head around it, couldn't understand how we'd gotten here. This was a precipice, and I knew I would never be the same once he opened his mouth.

The sincerity on his face broke whatever remained within me. "Nothing here has any value without you. You're my home," he said, unable to take his eyes off mine. I held that stare, waiting for him to continue. "They would gladly sacrifice you if it meant the world survived, but I wouldn't. I would never walk this plane again if it meant I had you at my side in Hell."

I looked down to the knife in my hand, staring at it. It felt like the symbol for everything I'd thought I'd known about myself, for the woman who pretended to be strong while hiding the fear of hurt and abandonment.

They would sacrifice me to save themselves, but he wouldn’t. It may not have been the freedom I’d thought he’d give me or the choice I’d hoped for. Nevertheless it was mine all the same.

Just having it made everything so clear I winced.

I pulled the knife away from my chest, holding it out to the side and dropping it so that it fell to the floor beside me.

Gray was upon me the next instant, pulling me into his arms as my legs caved beneath me. "I'm sorry," I whispered, letting him lift me off my feet. I wrapped my arms around his head, holding him tight and frantically trying to get closer.

He carried me into the bedroom, laying me across the bed gently and shoving my dress up my thighs.

Laying his weight on top of mine, he drove inside.

Coming home.

CHAPTER 32

GRAY

Gray

One of these days, Willow would learn to accept that she was allowed to want something for herself. It didn't make her selfish to put her needs first occasionally, because she wouldneverbe like me. She would never put herself over the world around her and over what was best for her Coven on a regular basis.

She whimpered as I drove inside her, her emotions tearing her in two. Willow had never before been so at odds with herself, not when all defiance had been stripped from her by the abusive piece of shit father I wished Charlotte hadn't taken from me.

I would have given almost anything to make him suffer slowly. I'd have buried him alive just to dig him up and force him to fight for his life or spend the evening on his knees.

I shoved the thoughts away, focusing on the silent tears leaking from Willow's face. It was as if she couldn't stop now that she'd started, her own horror over her own actions turning her into a mess. I wanted the strong witch who'd come to Hollow's Grove back, wanted her to find her way back to the person she'd been before I'd added my manipulation to the mix of betrayals she'd suffered through her life.

My wife needed a purpose to drive her forward, something to keep her focus on so that she didn't spend her entire day stewing and thinking about the possible heartaches coming her way. I'd deal with it in the morning, give her the thing she needed more than anything.

After I found who had helped her spell that knife and killed them for it.

I crashed my mouth against hers, moving within her to distract her for the time being. She wrapped her arms and legs around me, clinging to me like I was her lifeline.

Only I wasn't, and she needed a reminder of something she'd always known.

Just because she wasn't alone anymore, didn't mean that she needed me. I was sure enough to admit I needed her far more than she ever needed me. Where I couldn't bear the thought of a life without her, she'd been willing to tear me from her soul.

The thought was enough to bring my anger back, a growl rumbling in my throat as her legs tightened and tried to hold me to her. She was soft and pliant in my arms, almost making me regret what I would do to remind her who webothwere.

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