Page 28 of Resist

“I think whoever gets to be loved by you will be lucky,” I murmur.

“I know it.” He grins widely. “Too bad I haven’t found them yet.”

“Do you think there’s a chance for us?” I ask after a while.

“I think anything is possible if you want it enough. The question, Fox, is if you will go for it.”

“I think . . . someone who loved me wouldn’t hurt me like this, and I don’t know if I can forgive him enough to try.”

“Then you need to figure it out,” he says. “Come on, let’s have a drink and some food, then you can go back and decide what you will do. This can be your refuge, your attack command center.” He smiles at me so sweetly, I want to cry.

It would be easy to love a man like him, but he isn’t Ryker.

THIRTEEN

Itry to call again, even though I know it’s useless, and it goes straight to voicemail. I hang up and close my eyes. I’m sitting on the stairs in the dark, waiting. He’s been gone all night, and none of us can get a hold of him.

I hate the panic coursing through me.

Is he okay?

He sounded so tired when he said he was done, and my heart won’t stop aching. Each breath feels like daggers are being shoved into my chest.

The others went to bed, saying he will come back when he’s ready, but I have a sinking feeling. What if he doesn’t? What if he meant it? What if Fox is gone just like that?

I know I shouldn’t have kissed him, not like that, but it was my only chance to do it. It was the only way I could kiss him, so I turned my head. I wanted to kiss him so badly, and now he won’t even answer my calls.

It’s all my fault. I never wanted to hurt Fox. He’s the last person in the world I would ever want to hurt, but I keep doing it, and I don’t know how to stop.

Glancing at my phone, I swallow around the thickness in my throat. The picture on my lock screen has me struggling tohold myself together. Fox and I smile widely, our arms thrown around each other’s shoulders.

It was an innocent, friendly gesture to everyone else, but to me, it meant everything. I couldn’t stop looking at him that day and every day since.

Does he know how he makes me feel? I’ve tried my best to stop feeling like this. I thought avoiding him and fucking him out of my system would help, but I was wrong, and the idea that I could have lost him for good . . .

It terrifies me.

I wonder how many times he waited like this for me. When I would stumble back drunk after a one-night stand, he’d simply nod, glad I was safe, and every time I felt like crying.

Did he feel like this? Destined to sit and wait for his lost love, all while knowing he’s with another?

Opening my phone, I text him again, but it doesn’t even show that it was delivered.

I navigate to social media. We are everywhere, our kiss is viral, and I hate it. It ruined us, but I love that I got to claim him like that.

Maybe it’s petty, especially if he’s with someone else, but I can’t resist.

I pull up one of our private photos, one he doesn’t know I have. He’s asleep, his head pressed to mine, his chest bare, and I’m leaning on his shoulder in his bed, smiling.

Sorry to disappoint you all. He’s mine

I post it without thought, unconcerned about the repercussions. The comments and messages instantly roll in, but I log out and look at the door, hoping it will open.

When it finally does, I almost think it’s my imagination. I leap to my feet, staring at him as he silently slips inside before freezing when he sees me. Neither of us speak for a moment.He’s in the same outfit, but his hair is messy and his lips are red, and I know . . .

He was with someone else tonight.

I want to throw up, my stomach rolling even as my heart sinks. How could he be with someone else after kissing me?

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