Page 102 of Bitter Truths

And I don’t. If I have to splay myself open and reveal every painful piece of me to keep her, I will. I just hope it doesn’t include Jason because I want to keep him as far away from her as possible.

What I did was for her, but if she never knows, that’s fine with me. I want her to look toward our future, and Jason is very much someone who should be in her past.

“Oh,” she says, arching a brow before her eyes soften, “That was—”

“I didn’t do it for him,” I say, kissing her palm. I’d do anything for this woman, including saving her stupid brother.

Her brilliant blue eyes glisten, and I suck in a breath when she kisses me sweetly. But when she pulls away, my spine tingles at her furrowed brow. I eye her with a frown when she opens her mouth but strangely slams it closed instead.

“What?” I ask, curling my hand into a fist. Is she angry? Or is it something else? Fuck, I miss the days when I could read her like a book.

“I-it’s nothing,” she mumbles, glancing away. “Thank you for telling me.”

Grabbing her chin, I pull her around, desperate to see her pretty eyes. “Sweet, I don’t want anything to come between us.”

She smiles and pulls me in for a long kiss that makes my dick stand to attention, and when we pull away, I’m panting, and she’s breathless.

Smirking, I laugh when she smacks my arm, the tension in my chest easing, but as I follow behind her into the house, I can’t help but wonder at the hesitation? Was it my fierce declaration or something else?

∞∞∞

HALSEY

“Hey,” Aaron says with a smile when we enter.

“Hey,” I say, bypassing him to drop my bag in my room.

When I re-emerge, I slow at the threshold to the kitchen when I hear Aaron say, “I would never let her get hurt.”

“I get it, but she’s not safe,” Griff says in warning.

With a warm pulse in my chest, I enter the kitchen and head straight for Griffin’s outstretched arms, snuggling close and breathing deep. This feeling right here is feeding my soul, and I missed it and him so much there’s a desperate need to hold on with both hands.

Aaron smiles, and I return the gesture, so very grateful for his presence in my world.

“So, what’s the plan?” Aaron asks, and I sigh when Griffin stiffens in my embrace.

Behind Griffin, Aaron fans his face, mouthing so hot, and I smile, but the warm glow fades because I know I have to tell Griffin the truth about my part in the video, and I’m dreading it.

A large part of me doesn’t regret my actions, but I don’t want it to come between Griffin and me. Hopefully, he’ll understand because I had to do it. It was part of my journey.

“I don’t know,” I say, leaning back. “We wait for word from my dad?”

Griffin’s eyes darken, but he nods, searching my eyes. “Okay, but I don’t want you out of my sight.”

With a smile, I peck him on the lips. “That sounds good to me.”

Griffin’s eyes light up, and I smirk, turning away and pulling him along with me.

Aaron calls out, “Try to keep it down.”

With a snort, I shut the door behind us. “Now what?”

“Now I make you scream,” he says huskily, and everything falls away but him and this.

Chapter Thirty

I’m so fucking tired.

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