Page 47 of Dissent

“You know, you must have been a dog in another life.” I was so tired of all this crap. He might look like Chase, and my body mightwantto wrap itself around him in a tangled mess of passion, but my brain wanted to flip him the middle finger.

He scowled, “Adog?”

“Yeah, definitely adog.” I lifted myself off the ground, getting to my feet and then putting distance between us. “Probably a rabid chihuahua.”

“What doesthatmean?”

“It means you freakin’ growl, like,allthe time.” I crouched, arms out and ready for his next attack, because after several weeks of this shit, I knew he wouldn’t give me any warnings.

He glared, crouching himself. “Is that right,princess?” The way he said the last word practically dripped with contempt.

“Yeah, that’s right.” We started circling each other. “A rabid chihuahua…withfleas,” I added for good measure.

His eyes shimmered as the scowl dropped and was replaced by a devilish smirk. Andoh my god, that smirk did wild things to my heart. Gooseflesh skittered across my skin as a lowpulsing throb kicked up in a place I’d rather not admit to myself. The experience unnerved me, and I instantly cursed under my breath. My reaction bolstered him, and that stupid smirk deepened. His eyes flickered with satisfaction, causing my body to tense.

“And does that make you the flea?”

Jerk!“What the hell isthatsupposed to mean?”

“It means you don’t belong here, Mara.” The growl returned, low and deep in his throat. His words stung.

I swallowed hard, trying to choke down the emotion that swelled up within me as I stood up straight. “You know what? You’re right.” Wes froze in place, expression going blank. “But that doesn’t mean you have to be such a dick about everything.” He stood, the hard lines of his face softening ever so slightly, but his expression gave nothing away. “I didn’t ask to come here. And I sure as hell didn’t want anything to happen to Chase.”

A tear rolled over my bottom lid, sliding down the curve of my cheek. And Ihatedit.Hated,hated,hatedthat I was going to cry again, in front ofhimno less. “I don’t expect you to believe me, but I really did like him. And I totally get that you blame me for his death. Ireallydo.” I sniffed as a few more tears slipped. “I blame myself too because…” I stuttered, my heart pounding in my chest, but I pushed myself forward, “Because it wasmyfault.” There, I said it. And it felt like a fifty-pound weight had dropped off my shoulders—off mysoul.

“My dad asked for his name, and I knew if I didn’t give it up, I was going to pay for it. Because no matter how bad you think my dad is, my stepmom’s a hundred times worse.” I closed my eyes, inhaling deep, feeling my lungs expand until they felt as though they were going to burst. Letting out the air, I opened my eyes and watched Wes.

I owed him this. I owed it to Chase. It had taken me a month to gain the courage to admit my part in his death, and I knew a month was way too long to finally come clean. But it was done. I had finally taken ownership of the part I played, and it filled me with shame.

Licking my lips, I continued. “I didn’t think anything was going to happen. I thought he might get called in or maybe even denied as a match for me.” The memory of flames consuming his body made me shake my head. “But not that. Never in a million years did I think Raúl would do what he did. If I had known…” I hesitated. I knew what I wanted to say, but I wasn’t sure if it was true. Would I have risked my own skin to save Chase’s? I hoped I would, but maybe…

My chest tightened. I cleared my throat, trying to loosen the tension that was forming. “I-I want to tell you I wouldn’t have given him up. But…but I don’t know if that’s the truth.” I watched him. Watched as he stood up straighter, his weight shifting from one leg to the other, but his stoic expression revealed nothing. “I lied to you last week at the Rock. I lied. And I lied because I was afraid of what would happen if I told you the truth. I…I was afraid of what you would think of me. I know you’re not stupid. Every day since has proven to me you already knew the truth. But you deserve to hear it from me. I owe it to him. I owe it to your brother to admit it out loud to you.”

My eyes stung with the threat of fresh tears, but I pulled in another deep breath in an effort to retain control. “So, if you want to keep punishing me for it, then go ahead. I’m all up for a little atonement. But do me the favor and stop salting an open wound. I can do that part all by myself. I don’t need help.”

Wes stared at me, his body rigid like marbled granite, but I couldn’t hold his gaze. As another tear rolled down my cheek, I tucked my chin to my chest, using the back of my finger to wipe away my tears when suddenly…

Fingertips.

I felt the gentle touch of fingertips on my chin, tilting my head back. My breath caught as my whole body tensed. Eyes gliding upward, my vision was filled with a rippled chest, then broad shoulders, and finally Wes’s eyes. And those eyes held me captive.

My jaw slackened.

All this time, I thought he was Chase’s identical twin, but he wasn’t. Not truly… Because at that moment, I realized there was something that set them apart. Where Chase’s eyes had been light green, Wes’s eyes were actually hazel. Yellow, the color of molten gold, haloed the green, while flecks of darkened amber riddled his irises. And they were breathtaking.

How did I never notice them before?

“Your eyes,” I whispered, completely entranced. “Your eyes are different.”

His body stiffened, gaze searching mine, fingers still holding my chin. I could feel the heat of him against me, and his voice came out thick but soft when he spoke. “What?”

I blinked, everything inside of me coiling tighter. “Your eyes,” I repeated, “they look likegold.”

They danced, hot and intense, boring into me as his hand moved from my chin to the curvature of my cheek, softly brushing away the moisture. I forgot how to breathe. The deep pulsing throb only pounded harder as my body remembered what it was like to be this close to Chase, falling in sync with his rhythm. His eyes burned with unspoken emotion as his face drew closer to mine, and I trembled with anticipation, my knees threatening to buckle. I closed my eyes, memories of the park filling me with desire as I parted my lips, ready for him. Ready for him to finally kiss me as I breathed out his name.

Then everything froze.

Everything stopped in that instant. Opening my eyes, I caught a warring expression dancing across the features of his beautiful face as he stood stiff as stone in front of me.

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