Page 79 of Carnival
I pant, still on top of him. His breathing is heavy, and with shaky hands, I reach up to remove his mask. He allows it, and once the mask is tossed aside, I take a good look at him.
Those same gorgeous eyes and those alluring, kissable lips stare right at me. Though, he has a scar below his right eye now. It’s faded, meaning it happened a while ago. Neither of us says a word; there are no words to be said.
I’m torn between running away or staying, knowing it will determine the rest of my life. Running would be the easy choice, not having to deal with the consequences, and trying to act as if he hadn’t impacted my life as much as he had. But the more I stare into his eyes, the more I’m sure of my answer.
I’m staying, no matter what.
“Hellion,’’ he looks at me, pushing a strand of my hair behind my ear. “Kiss me.’’
My hands are on his cheeks immediately, cupping them as I tug him closer, kissing him immediately.
And the kiss feels like home.
30
Rose
James takes me to an apartment that is awfully close to the old one I owned. It’s small, with one bedroom, a kitchen and a living room together, the coziest little terrace I’ve seen, and a bathroom in different shades of grey. It’s perfect.
Every bookshelf, every place where a picture frame could be placed, has a picture of me. They’re outdated, with nothing from the past two years, but there are a lot of them that I wasn’t even aware existed. Some were from high school; others were from random nights out with Aria and Blair. I’d be creeped out if it weren’t James in the question here. Somehow, it’s very much on brand for him.
I sit on the comfortable, deep grey couch, fiddling with the ends of my shirt. I took a shower as soon as we got here, and surprise, surprise, James is stocked up with every product I’m using.
James takes a seat across from me, freshly showered. The last time I’d seen him like this was when he got arrested, and Imomentarily wince at the memories. He folds his arms in front of his chest, leans back in the chair, and looks at me. Yet again, it’s hard to describe what his expression looks like; I can’t read him.
“I won’t beat around the bush,’’ I clear my throat, forcing myself to stare right at him, and at the same time, I try to ignore the way my body’s reacting to the scent on his shirt. “Why did you agree to go to prison, James?”
He doesn’t miss a beat, and the sincerity in his voice shocks me.
“Because that was the only way for Vivian not to touch you.’’
I frown. “She tried, though.’’
He scoffs. “Those were just intimidation tactics. And luckily for the old hag, you’re unharmed. But, after I ditched the organization as a whole, they didn’t just let me leave. She started borderline harassing me, telling me I need to go back to work for her. So, I lied.’’
“What exactly did you lie about?”
“I told her I knew where the USB drive was and that she won’t get it if she dares to touch you.’’
“It doesn’t explain why you’d go to prison.’’
“It was the safest option. If I hadn’t gone to prison, she would’ve been attacking left and right for the drive until she got it or found out I was bluffing, and then we’d both be dead. This bought us enough time for Hudson to dig up everything he possibly could about Vivian and her little henchmen.’’
“But you weren’t really safe in there, were you?” I lean in, my elbows resting on my knees. “You were attacked. More than once, Casper told me. And you even killed a man recently, too.’’
He shrugs. “I knew that there would be a possibility of them attacking me. Vivian isn’t stupid; she was trying to scare me. She knew that if I died, any information on the USB drive died with me. If she had touched you or harmed you, she knew I never would’ve told her. And the little agreement was that I’d be removed, kept my mouth shut, and she’d leave you alone.’’
“So… what now?”
“The moment I set foot outside the prison, the agreement was no longer there. Meaning, she’ll start attacking left and right. Luckily, Hudson is one smart man, and he does love you like his own, so he’s not totally useless. We’re taking them down.’’
The small hairs stand up straight on the back of my neck, and I straighten up in my seat. Anxiously, I fiddle with the hem of the shirt, looking down.
James is right – of course he is.
The pathetic attempts to scare me were just that: intimidation tactics. There were too many opportunities for them to strike. Nights when I’d walk back from the library, early morning runs I started doing, and even properly breaking into Aria’s apartment. If Wyatt was able to do it, and he’s a little bitch, I’ve no doubt someone of Vivian’s caliber would’ve done it in a heartbeat.
It means that what I’ve experienced thus far is nearly as bad as things were about to become, and the thought scares me. Call me selfish, but I didn’t ask for any of this. I didn’t ask to be the granddaughter of a sociopathic bitch, nor did I ask to become her target. I don’t want to die. I’m too young.
