Page 101 of Heart Sick Hate

She bites her lip, and her eyes are glassy. “I can’t answer that.”

“Why?” I pull her lip out from between her teeth when she moves to bite it again.

“I promised him my future.”

I’m not sure if she’s referring to my brother or father. Or maybe hers. It doesn’t matter. I might not play their games, but I know how to fight.

I shake my head, dropping my hands to hers and wrapping them in my palms. She stands still in the silence for a long moment. Her mind waging a battle with her heart. The aftermath playing out in her stare.

“Stop lying. Stop fighting. Stop with the survival instincts and just talk to me. Tell me what you want.”

“I want you, Crew.” It’s so quiet I barely hear it. “Even if you’re going to make me regret it.”

I can’t help but smirk because she’s right to fear me the way she does. I might never let anyone hurt her, but it doesn’t make what we are a pretty picture either.

We’re messy. Disastrous. A galaxy caving in on itself and impossible to stop.

“You’ll only regret it when I refuse to let you go.”

Feathering my hands down her side, I snake them around the backs of her thighs and pick her up. She wraps her legs around me and catches my neck with her arms. Foreheads pressed together as I spin us around and sit her on the counter.

My mouth finds hers and our tongues tangle, until I steal her gum like I plan on stealing every part of her.

Pulling back, I pop it between my teeth, and she glares at me.

“That was mine.”

“You belong to me.” I reach down and grab her hand, pulling off the ring my brother gave her and tossing it somewhere in the apartment.

For a moment, I expect her to argue, but she’s quiet as she watches my finger graze the once more empty spot.

“No one marks you but me, Echo.” I drag a hand up the center of her throat, still rubbing her hand. “And when I replace that piece of trash he gave you, it will be with ink. Because there is no backing out of us.”

The column of her throat moves with her swallow.

“And in the meantime, I’ll mark you with my cum. Because I’m the only man allowed to do that.”

Her breath hitches. Catches in her throat as I squeeze her neck. And her body melts at the pressure. No flinch, no fear, no resistance. She trusts me, and it’s my responsibility to make sure she always can.

“Who do you belong to?” I tighten my grip and her stare gets hazy.

“You.” She chokes out, her fingers gripping the counter where she sits.

I release her, and she gulps in a breath as I take a step back. “Then prove it.”

30

Crew

Echo holds onto thecounter as I inch back, walking away from her. She’s been fighting this like she has a chance. She doesn’t, and I need her to finally accept it.

Sitting in the chair across the living room, I watch her tap her heels against the island.

I’ve been chasing her, while she’s been his. And I need her to be mine, to prove she wants to be. There’s no more denying this.

“Come here,” I say, and her feet pause.

Echo bites her puffy lip and her eyes light up. They shimmer. Flecks of gold that might as well be the sun.

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