Page 48 of Always Red (Chasing Red 2)

I froze. My body felt numb, but I could feel my heart beating against my chest. When his eyes met mine, they widened slightly. As if he saw what I was thinking, knew what I was feeling.

He held my face in his hands, silently begging me to look at him. But I couldn’t. Finally, he said it. “Look at me, love.”

I blew out a shaky breath and raised my eyes to his. Hot tears threatened to spill, but I blinked them away.

“I know what you’re thinkin

g. There’s only one person who can put that look in your eyes. And I wish I could hurt him right now.”

He knew, I realized. Without a word from me, he knew what I was thinking.

“People who love to hurt others to make themselves feel better, who break your heart and deliberately make you lose your self-respect and self-worth over and over again…”

I felt my throat close up.

“Your dad didn’t deserve your love. He wasn’t worthy of it. It wasn’t your fault.”

I closed my eyes tightly.

“But you gave him your love anyway. Doesn’t that tell you a lot about yourself? You told me before that you blamed yourself for what happened to your parents. That your spineless dad blamed you. But I know you know better than that, Red. You know better. It wasn’t your fault,” he repeated. “And what happened earlier today was not your fault either.”

I wasn’t aware the tears had already fallen until he wiped them with his thumbs. I’d rarely cried before I met Caleb, because I thought tears were a sign of weakness, a sign that something bad had happened. But now I knew that tears could mean good things too.

“Baby,” he whispered, sounding pained. I knew he didn’t like seeing me cry. He hated it. “People can’t give something they don’t have in themselves. Your dad chose not to love, or maybe he doesn’t know how. But you do. And you have so much to give. So much.” He kissed my lips softly, to comfort, to soothe. “And I want it all. I want all your love, Red.”

Undone, I threw my arms around him, burying my face in his neck. “They could all hate me right now. I don’t care. As long as you’re with me, Caleb. As long as you’re with me, I can endure anything.”

It was a moment before he spoke again. “Red.” His voice was rough, but his hands were gentle as they stroked my back, his arms wrapped protectively around me. “You can’t make me love you any more than this.”

Chapter Seventeen

Veronica

Caleb spread a blanket on the grass beside the fire. He sprawled in the middle of it, folding his arms behind his head and crossing his ankles. The picture of a pampered, gorgeous rich boy.

He closed his eyes, humming. I stood beside him, raising my eyebrows. “Did you need anything else, master? Some refreshments, perhaps?”

He opened one eye and grinned. “I thought you’d never ask.”

I snorted. He was hopeless. Earlier, his sweet declarations had made me cry, and now he made me want to laugh and slap the silly insolence off his handsome face at the same time.

I turned around to grab something to throw at him. “I’ll show you refreshm—aah!”

He sat up quickly, reaching his arms out to grab my waist and pull me to his lap.

“Caleb!”

He maneuvered our bodies, grasping my waist in his strong hands so I was lying underneath him.

His bronze hair fell over one eye. The other stared at me challengingly. “Who’s the master now?”

I pressed my palms to my mouth, trying desperately not to dissolve into laughter. And then he started tickling me mercilessly. I made inhuman noises, trying to slap away his hands and cover my mouth at the same time. It was late at night, and I really didn’t want to wake up the neighbors.

“Who’s the master now, Red?”

“Me!”

“Wrong answer.” He tsked. “Try again.”

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