Page 21 of Torched

“What?” Her blue eyes peer up at me with innocence, the purity of her soul reflecting under the artificial light.

“You don’t trust me.”

“Liam–”

“You think I still have feelings for Cristina,” I cut her off.

An intense scowl sets the skin around her eyes. “No,” she barks with force, her blues turning darker. “That is not true.”

“Then what is it?” I know there is something, because gone is that vibrant girl I fucked in the pantry this afternoon. This girl is… lost. Like now that there is another pawn in the game, she needs to find her place again. But there is only one place for her on this board.

She’s the motherfucking queen.

“I’m not happy Cristina is here, Liam.”

“Neither am I,” I counter. “But I can see that’s not the only thing on your mind.” I reach my hand up to brush my thumb along her cheek, trying to have patience with her even though I want to scream at her to tell me what's wrong. Not because I’m angry, but because I can’t stand seeing her walk around with a dimmed light.

“What is it, Gen?” I press, my tone soft and encouraging.

“I trustyou.But I don’t trusther.” Her sigh is pregnant. We all have our history with Cristina Reyes and none of it is rainbows and unicorns. “I don’t want her around me. And I certainly don’t want her around you, because I know she’ll be trying to mess with your head.”

“She can’t. Not anymore.”

“I know that.” The look in her eyes is genuine. “She hurt you too much to make you doubt her intentions ever again. But I hate the fact that she’s going to try. That she’s going to try to create tension between us because you know it will happen. She lives for that shit. You can see it in that shit-eating grin she has plastered on her face.”

“I know.”

“Well, I don’t want that. I don’t want her bursting my bubble!” She sounds more frustrated this time and her eyes turn glossy.

I slam her against my chest, cupping the back of her head as I rest my chin on top of her blonde hair. Her scent has my eyes shutting while I find the words I need.

“Hey, it’s gonna be okay. She can’t burst our bubble because it’s ours. The only ones who can burst it are you and me. And I sure as fuck am not going to. Are you?” I take her face in my hands quick enough to see the chuckle falling from her lips.

“No.”

“Good.” I smile. “She can’t touch us, baby. She can’t touchme. And I will never let her touch you.”

Her eyes speak unspoken words before she asks in barely a whisper, “Are you sure?”

“I’ve never been so sure in my life. Do you want to know why?” She hums. “I know Callie, Kane, and even you, are all worried that Cristina will be able to pull me into her spell again. I don’t like it, but I can’t blame ya’ll. The witch had me in her grasp deep. But the reason that will never happen again?” I pause, making sure I have her full attention. “Isyou.”

There is a slight lift of her eyebrows as her eyes search mine.

“When I look at you, I can’t even understand why I ever liked anything about Cristina. She’s nothing compared to you, in any kind of way. She’s everything you’re not, and I fell in love with you, Imogen Payne. And only you. You are my ray of sunshine on any given day, and she is nothing more than a thunderstorm I will always try to avoid. You areitfor me.”

Her lashes flutter shut as if she’s taking in the words with every fiber of her being. Then, as my gaze roves over her every feature, I watch her smile grow wide, reaching ear to ear as she opens her eyes. And she says the words that have my worries melting away, even if only temporarily.

“I fell in love with you too.”

“I mean it, baby. She showed me everything she can never give me because my benchmark is now set to unreachable expectations. No one will ever be able to surpass you. Once you’ve seen true beauty, it’s that much easier to discover the ugliness. And you, my sweet girl, are nothing less than a goddess.”

“Oh, please,” she huffs, her smile still in place. I grab her hips and twist us both in one swift move as I set her butt on the sink. Stepping between her legs, I grab her neck with a possessive grip.

“You are gorgeous, Imogen Payne. In every fucking way possible. From deep in your heart, to your eyes that I could stare into all day. It will be a cold day in hell before I’ll ever let you go. You are mine. And I don’t want anyone else.”

The kiss that follows is urgent, filled with longing, and I’m content when I feel her hands snake to the small of my back as she moans in my mouth.

“I don’t want anyone else either,” she whispers against my lips. Our tongues tease each other in small strokes, our breaths mixed as one. “You’re the only one I want.”

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