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I’d fallen in love.
I also knew that I couldn’t let her go. Not after the six weeks were over and not after I left for college.
Who the hell knows where Shane and Damon had gone at that moment? Most likely up to the house to get more to drink. But I was alone with her for what felt like forever as she danced and danced and danced.
I snapped my leash after a while, unable to sit still while she weaved her magic around me without the first clue what she was doing.
I think that’s what made her even more irresistible.
Emily didn’t try to lure me in.
She just did.
Lunging forward when she got close enough to grab, I grinned at the squeal on her lips as I pulled her down, my body pinning her to the sand before she could wriggle away to escape.
Her red hair covered her face, and I brushed it away to find big turquoise eyes staring up at me, round and soft. Her lips stretched into a grin that was seared into my memory.
There was no point dancing around what I wanted.
“I need you to promise me something.”
Laughter coated her voice. “Okay. If I can.”
Her words lit me up inside.
“It’s not about if you can. Just tell me you’ll give me what I want.”
The roll of her eyes made me grin.
“Fine. What do you want?”
“Promise me you’ll still be mine after I leave for college. Only mine. Just me and you.”
Her brows tugged together, and I knew an argument was coming. The second her mouth moved, I shut her up by pressing my thumb to her lips. That touch meant a hell of a lot more between us than anybody realized.
“Don’t argue with me. I know you’re supposed to marry Mason. I know we were only supposed to do this for a few weeks. I know we have every barrier in the world set between us, but I don’t care. If I can figure out how to work around all of that, then will you promise me that it’ll just be us when school ends and I leave? I can’t let you go, Em. I fucking refuse. So if I can figure this out, will you make me that promise?”
We stared at each other for what could have been hours. At least that’s how it felt, the silence so tense that my jaw ached from clenching my teeth, my thumb pressing against her lips harder.
Eventually, Emily did the one thing that always broke me.
She cupped my cheek with her hand, a silent gesture that I somehow knew meant she was right there beside me.
No matter what.
The tension bled away instantly, every muscle in my body relaxing as I leaned my face into that touch like a beaten dog who was experiencing kindness for the first time.
She owned me with that touch.
Slowly, I pulled my thumb away from her mouth to wipe at a tear that slipped from the outer corner of her eye.
“Say it,” I demanded.
Sorrow lined her expression, but she didn’t let me down. I knew she cared about Damon, but there was a deeper connection with me. You could see it in the way she looked at me. In the way her body melted every time I touched her.
Emily could breathe easier every time I was near.
“I promise,” she finally answered, a smile tugging at her lips that she tried to hide.