Page 118 of Lies Like Love

And when we pull back, she’s smiling so big it breaks my heart in ways I didn’t think possible. Because if anything happens to her, it will be the end of me.

“I can’t believe you did this.” Her eyes drop to the diamond.

“Just for you.”

Closing her eyes, she nuzzles into the side of my neck. “It’s almost perfect.”

“Almost?”

She pulls back and nods, and I don’t like the tone of her voice. Her gaze hardens with a cloud of darkness hovering over this moment.

“There’s only one way to fix this.” Her expression tightens. “I have to go see them. They’re the key.”

Her eyes dart once more to the ring on her finger.

“No.” She’s got to be fucking kidding me right now. I protected her back then. This is my battle to finish. “I’m still not convinced your grandparents didn’t send me the pictures. Or at the very least, aren’t in on it.”

A breeze wipes her smile from her face. “I need the truth, Jude. All of it.”

Truth, when all I’ve ever told her is lies.

She can only trust me so much when I’ve proven over and over again, she shouldn’t. She’s right. Even if it makes me sick to my stomach. There’s only one way to make up for the years I spent hiding things from her.

Holding her chin up, I lose myself in her eyes. “If you do this, I refuse to lose you to them again.”

“You won’t,” she whispers, and like the air senses turmoil brewing, the wind kicks up. “I need you to trust me to finish this for good. To the end, remember?”

“To the end.”

Only this time, we might actually reach it.

37

Jude

Felstandsinfrontof the full-length mirror in my bathroom with her bottom lip pulled between her teeth. Her fingers fidget in her hair, and she’s radiating nervous energy.

She’d probably rather be in jeans and a crop top, wearing a collection of bracelets, but she’s stepping into their world today. And it was ingrained in her at a young age to keep up appearances.

“How do I look?” She runs her fingers down her teal sundress.

Beautiful. Gorgeous.

The death of me.

I walk up behind her and plant my hands on either side of her hips. Her silky dress butter as I run my palms around her stomach and tease the tops of her thighs. “You never look anything but perfect.”

The smile that climbs her cheeks splinters my soul because it’s a reminder that I’m an idiot for agreeing to her plan.

I’m tempted to chain her to my bed and forfeit this promise, but I know better.

“Perfect,” I repeat, kissing her bare shoulder and inhaling her sweet, strawberry scent. Her blush follows the path my lips draw on her skin. “But I still think you’d look better naked, riding my dick.”

Fel spins around and plants both hands on the center of my chest, pushing me back a step. She tries to force a frown, but the red spots dotting her neck and cheeks give her away. My crude comments turn her on, so I don’t bother taking them back.

Besides, something has to distract me from the fact that she’s going to see her grandparents today. It’s my fault it’s even necessary when I should have finished this shit years ago. This mess isn’t hers to clean up.

My father’s sick perversion started it. Her mother’s spineless promises fed it. Protecting her is my responsibility.

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