Page 76 of All Too Well
“I’m always right.”
Her eyes narrow. “That’s not a weakness, that’s bullshit.”
I laugh. “Fine. I don’t trust easily.”
Years and years of people proving that they aren’t trustworthy have made that my reality. I’ve tried to see past the broken promises, but after a while, you can’t. People show you who they are—I just choose to believe them instead of deluding myself they’ll change.
My mother suffered with depression throughout her life. She fought as hard as she could, until she decided she didn’t want to anymore. No matter how many times she promised me she’d try again, she would go back. I didn’t have friends, other than Caspian and Ainsley, who came to the house growing up, mostlybecause I never knew if she would be dressed, awake, or functioning.
“No, you don’t, but you have your reasons.”
Ainsley and Caspian know. They were there, and it wasn’t always bad. She had good times. Where she baked cakes and threw elaborate garden parties. Those were the times I had my mom, the woman who loved me and did anything to make me smile.
I’d miss her when she’d fall into the abyss.
“It’s not that I don’t want to,” I tell her.
“Lachlan, I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. I know why you don’t trust people. Your whole life has been a series of letdowns. I get it. Your mom, Rose’s mother, your college girlfriend who tried to take money from you ... I was there. I know all about it. However, you trust some people.”
“Your brother, that’s about it.” She flinches a little. “And you, you know that.”
“Do I? I’m not trying to make myself a martyr here, but I’m not sure you do. Four years ago you didn’t trust me. You pushed away and told me I was a mistake.”
I put the truck in park in the driveway and turn to face her. “I didn’t trust myself.”
“Why?”
“It never should’ve happened that night.”
It never should’ve happened, period.
She turns, pulling her leg up onto the seat. “It happened again, though.”
“Yes.”
“And today, you ... we ... if we weren’t in front of your team, I think it would’ve happened then.”
I nod slowly. “Yes.”
“So you said we were going to find a way to deal with it?”
I inch closer. “We need to establish some kind of ...”
“An agreement.”
“Rules.”
“Boundaries,” Ainsley says as she moves closer. “So no one gets hurt.”
“You’re going to leave here,” I remind her.
“And you’re going to stay.”
Her brown eyes are trained on mine, the tiny flecks of yellow almost glowing. “Yes.”
“What’s your plan?” she asks softly.
“I have several of them.” One is that I strip her down and kiss every inch of this woman until she begs me to stop. I’m going to bring her so much pleasure that she’ll never want another man to even look at her. I plan to take her over and over again, fuck her out of my brain because she’s embedded herself there.
