Page 33 of When We Were Reckless
Her dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail, her face makeup-free, just the way I’d always liked it. My gaze lowered to her white crop top and high-waisted shorts that showcased her suntanned stomach. I used to think Alessia was stunning, but deception had painted her in an ugly light, and I still didn’t know if I should believe her.
My eyes narrowed on her. “Why didn’t you tell me this when it happened? Why did you wait all these months to fucking tell me?”
“You wouldn’t even speak to me, Jesse. You wanted nothing to do with me.”
How could she blame me for that? She’dcheatedon me. “I fucking loved you. I would have done anything for you.”
“Loved?” Tears streamed down her cheeks. I’d always hated when Alessia cried and had wanted to do everything in my power to make things better for her. “I don’t want to lose you. I can’t lose you, Jesse. I love you so much. You have to believe me. I would have never…” She exhaled a ragged breath. “I would never have done that to us.”
I didn’t know what to believe. I knew Nate was aggressive. He’d always tried to provoke me before a race. But this was a serious allegation. “Look me in the eye and tell me that what you’re saying is the truth.”
She raised her eyes to mine, her voice faltering on the words, but her gaze didn’t waver. “Nate forced me into having sex. I said no, and I tried to fight him off. But he…” She lowered her eyes then raised them to mine again. “He wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
I studied her face, searching for the truth.
“I swear on my life that’s the truth, Jesse.”
That son of a bitch. This was all my fault. If it hadn’t been for my rivalry with Nate, he would never have gone after her.
I would fucking kill him for what he did to her.
I pulled Alessia into my arms and held her close. It had been months since I’d held her like this.
Her whole body was shaking, and she was crying so hard her tears soaked my T-shirt. “Everything is going to be okay,” I promised. “I’ll take care of everything.”
How fucking wrong I’d been.
And how fucking stupid to have ever believed her.
How had I never noticed that Alessia was so cunning and manipulative? How had I spent three years with her, fucking her, loving her, sharing a life with her without really knowing her at all? She’d sworn up and down that she was telling the truth, and I’d believed her. Like a fool, I’d let her back into my life.
Fucking hell. I’d even apologized to her. I told her how sorry I was for putting her into that position.
All because she’d lied to me.
And now I was wound so tightly I felt like I was going to snap.
My grip was too tight, and I needed to loosen up. That’s where I’d been going wrong in my moto sessions.
Shake it off. Put it out of your head.
I relaxed my shoulders and wiggled my fingers, loosening my death grip on the handlebars.
As if Quinn sensed that something was wrong, her arms tightened around me. Was she scared? I eased up on the throttle and kept to the speed limit.
I needed to put this in perspective. So what if Quinn wanted to keep secrets from me? We weren’t in a relationship. She owed me nothing. Her lie of omission didn’t even come close to the lies that Alessia had fed me.
Was it any of my business what Quinn had been doing yesterday? Or who she had been doing it with?
No. It sure as hell wasn’t.
So why was I so pissed at her for hanging out with Walker? Was she going to give him her virginity? Was she going to let him touch her in places where nobody ever had?
Fuck. Just the thought of them together made my stomach churn.
She’s not yours, Jesse, and she never will be.
The last thing I needed or wanted right now was a relationship.
