Page 94 of Seduced By You

I said nothing in response. Partly because he had a point and partly because every time I opened my mouth, the cruelty I found myself capable of stunned me. This wasn’t like me at all. I loved Kadon. Deeply. And he loved me.

Until he sees that ugly gash on your face. He won’t love you then.

I faced away from him. If that didn’t send a message, nothing would. A soft sigh feathered over me. He laid a hand on my shoulder.

“Love you, Lee.”

Seconds later, the door clicked shut. I rolled onto my side, burrowed my hands underneath the pillow, and let the tears come.

Chapter29

Leesa

The good, the bad, and the ugly.

The dewy grasscooled my feet as I scampered down the hillside, and fresh mountain air filled my nostrils. Spring flowers bloomed, dotting the landscape with yellows and blues and the brightest pinks. Sheep grazed in a paddock nearby, and I paused for a few moments to watch the lambs frolic, their joy at being alive contagious.

A broad smile crossed my face. “There you are.” I ran to him, my fingers burrowing into his silky locks, his lips searing hot as he kissed me. We tumbled to the ground, laughing with abandon, his body fusing with mine until I lost where he ended and I began.

“I love you,” I murmured, refusing to break our kiss to tell him that.

“I’m sorry,” he replied, the love in his eyes fading so fast I wasn’t sure it’d been there at all.

“Sorry for what?”

“For leaving you.”

The grass turned white. The lambs vanished. Clouds moved in, their gloom sucking all the joy from the air. Dampness seeped through my thin blouse, soaking me in seconds.

Cold.I’m so cold.

“Don’t go.” I stretched my arms toward him. “You can’t leave.”

“You’re wrong,” he replied. “I can’t stay. Not now. Not after this.”

He edged away. I crawled on my hands and knees toward him, my fingers growing numb as I clawed my way through the snow. “Kadon, please. I need you.”

Tires screeched. Spinning. Blind panic. Fear.

“Kadon!” I screamed. “Don’t leave me!”

“I have to. I’m no good for you. Next time, you won’t get off so lightly.”

I sat bolt upright, my chest heaving, heart almost hacking its way through my rib cage. Scrunching the bedclothes in my fists, I fought for breath, the dream lurking at the edges of my mind.

“Annaleesa?”

Maman.

I whipped my head toward the voice. The same voice I’d last heard in anger. Maman hovered over me, tears streaming down her face, wisps of graying hair escaping the chignon she always wore. Beside her stood Papa, more salt-and-pepper flakes at his temples than when I’d last seen him, but with the same soft brown eyes and thick, bushy eyebrows.

“Oh, Maman.”

She scooped me up into her arms. I collapsed, physically and emotionally, my body racked with sobs I couldn’t hold back. Maman cried, too. Even Papa, a man who held his emotions in check, sniffled and blew his nose on the handkerchief he insisted on carrying.

“Here.” Maman handed me a tissue and took a fresh one from the packet for herself. I wiped my eyes and blew my nose.

“How did you know I was here?”

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