Page 29 of Leave Before I Love You
“Oh, puh-lease.” I snort. “Don’t try to play innocent with me, Callahan. I have eyes. And I’ve known you forever.” I raise a brow. “We both know you’ve banged your way through a whole fucking squad.”
His mouth twists in amusement. “Maybe I’m an illusionist, like you. Maybe I just like kissing all these women.”
I narrow my eyes. “Are you?”
“Well, no. But that’s not the point.”
I guffaw. “It’s almost like the entire point, Henry!” I shove to my feet and hold out a hand, swaying only alittllllebit from the booze. I try my damnedest to conceal it before he gets all high and mighty about being honorable and sober and responsible and shit.
The last thing I need is for Mr. All-of-a-Sudden-Honorable-and-Responsible to latch on to that and turn this into some stupid lessonabout good decision-making.
“Come on, Henry.” I extend a beckoning hand, grinning like I just solved world peace. “Let’s go have sex.”
“Avery…” He scrubs a hand down his face and sighs heavily.
“What now?” I blow out a frustrated breath from pursed lips. “What possible excuse could you have?”
“You’re a virgin, Avery.”
“Uh. Yeah. I know. I am the bearer of the hymen after all.”
His jaw clenches. “Then you have to know it’s not just as simple as saying,Hey, let’s go do it.There are consequences. Things that it will change.”
I scoff. “It’s only complicated if we make it complicated. We’re just two bodies, passing the time.”
“We’re going to get off this island, Avery.” His voice has the kind of careful cautiousness that grates on my nerves. I don’t wantto overanalyze this shit. I just want to…escape. “And then what?” he questions. “Will you regret it then?”
I cross my arms. “Why are you making such a big deal out of this?”
“Because,” he snaps, running a frustrated hand through his hair, “I can’t handle the thought of you regretting it and deciding never to talk to me again.” His words come out raw and unfiltered, the sharp edges of his restraint fraying. “I get that it’d be easier—that it would make this whole situation easier if you had someone to hate or blame or lash out at. But God, Avery…” He exhales, shaking his head. “I…I can’t have you hating me. I can’t.”
And just like that, the weight of it all slams into me.
The air between us shifts, heavier than before.
I stare at him, my pulse hammering, the firelight casting shadows over his sharp features—the cut of his jaw and the heat in his stormy blue eyes.
And fuck, Iwanthim.
I want him so badly it’s making my head spin.
I swallow hard. “That’ll never happen, Henry. I swear.” And I mean it so deeply that my whole body shakes.
Two days ago, when I thought he was hurt or missing or…dead…I realized a lot of things about Henry I’ll never be able to forget. Rich or poor, healthy or sick, happy at home or stuck on this godforsaken island, Henry Callahan is the kind of man you ride or die for. He says what he means. Does what he says.
And I can’t imagine a world without him in it.
Fighting the overwhelming emotion of everything I’ve been working so hard to drown in bourbon, I suck my lips into my mouth, my next words no louder than a whisper. “I don’t know if we’ll ever get rescued.”
His gaze darkens. “Avery…”
“I don’t. And you don’t either. But either way, this is something that’s happened to both of us. Something we can’t go back from.” I exhale, stepping closer and kneeling before him until I slide mybody between his opened thighs. “You will always be part of my life. No matter what. Okay?”
He stares at me, hard, then finally nods. “Okay.”
I smile. “Good.” Then, without missing a beat, I grin wickedly and waggle my brows. “Now, let’s go have sex.”
“Avery!” Henry lets out a strangled sound, something between a laugh and a groan, rubbing a hand down his face.
