Page 161 of Firestorm
My head spun again. I had no idea how to respond to him. No idea whether or not I should come up with a lie on the spot or just give him selective truths. Selective truths were best, they were easiest to believe and usually placated someone long enough to drop the subject, but–
Aiden’s face fell while I hesitated.
“Aiden, it’s…” I blew out a breath. “It’s…dangerous.”
His eyes widened slightly, his heart-rate speeding up under my palm.
“Skye,” he whispered. I waited patiently for him to say something as he chose his words carefully. “Skye, I’ve never felt more sure about something in my life. Iknowyou’re meant to be mine.”
“I feel that too,” I started, but Aiden shook his head slightly, his eyes closing as he gathered his thoughts. My mouth was dry, my chest pulsing with that phantom pain of rejection. If Aiden was getting ready to reject me over this…I’d never survive.
“I’m an overthinker,” Aiden said. “I can’t help it. I spiral. If I don’t know how you feel about something, my thoughts…they go wild with the worst case scenario.”
I nodded encouragingly as Aiden faltered slightly. He squeezed his eyes shut.
“And you…you’re not an over-explainer. We communicate well enough, I just…my mind doesn’t work like other people’s. I need reassurance, and…I need explanations. Otherwise I don’t know how this could work.”
He opened his eyes, revealing unshed tears.
And I felt like the worst person on the entire fucking planet.
“Aiden,” I murmured.
He shook his head again, holding his hand up slightly. He wasn’t done speaking. “I believe that you trust me. And I believe that you’re scared of whatever you’re hiding. But Skye, you cannot decide for me whether or not I’m strong enough to know what it is. That choice is mine.”
I chewed my lip. He was right. Of course he was fucking right. I opened my mouth to tell him exactly what it was, or at least hint to him that I needed access to his mind, but that’s not what came out.
“I can’t tell you,” I whispered. “I promise you, Aiden, I will never lie to you. But there are things I cannot explain to you, at least not yet. That’s all I can offer you right now. But know that I will never lie to you. Everything I say to you is the truth, even if I have to hold some things back.”
Aiden breathed out slowly, then nodded with resignation. “Okay. I can work with that.”
“And if you’re spiraling,” I said, taking his face in my hands. “You tell me. And I will reassure you. Okay?”
Aiden nodded. “Okay. I love you, Skye.”
I only grinned before I kissed him.
Chapter 45
Skye
I knockedon the office door again, ignoring the curious glances from the secretaries as they passed me, carrying their mugs of coffee and piles of paperwork. I was all but tapping my foot on the stone flooring, my anger growing with every moment my knocking went unanswered.
One office aide that walked by had her brown hair tied back into a severe bun at the base of her skull. She wore a near-leather black pencil skirt with a nearly see-through white dress top and black kitten heels. She pursed her fake lips, glancing at Wyatt’s door, then at me. I was in such a shitty mood, I raised an eyebrow at her. She scowled at me before turning down the hallway and heading away. I scowled at her back, envisioning ripping her tight bun out with a handful of her hair.
What?Wyatt was still one of my Links. At least…for now.
I gulped.
The door still hadn’t moved, no one had spoken from inside, and my irritation boiled over like it had the night of NudgeGate. Without giving it the second thought I should have, I banged on the door with the side of my fist like a fucking cop. The door flew open a moment later, and my fist almost sailed into stupid Wyatt’s stupidly muscled chest.
I somehow composed myself quickly. “Oh, there you are.” I said brightly, ignoring the confused expression on his face.
I slipped past him into his office, taking extra care not to brush up against him. The fucker didn’t deserve any type of touch or affection from me anymore.
It was stupid to even be here. But after Aiden had woken up for the second time last night, crying and mumbling about how Wyatt had fucked with his head, something inside me had flipped. I woke up and decided violence was the answer.
I flopped into one of Wyatt’s armchairs, crossing my arms and staring him down as he calmly made his way behind his desk to his large leather chair.
