Page 64 of Arseni

“You’re too good of a person, Margot…”

Her shoulders lift with a puff.“Tell that to the rest of the world.”

“I will.”

When she turns to me, I get the biggest urge to move closer.To hold her.Maybe even kiss her.

“I’ll scream it for anyone who will listen.”

She laughs dryly, but her lips soften with a small, grateful smile that tugs at my chest.Suddenly, what I want most in this world is to see that smile widen.

“So… no one then?”she asks.

“Fine.I’ll scream ituntilthey listen.”

There it is.

Her lips pull, only another half centimeter but enough to make me move down the bed to sit next to her.My fingers light, I collect her hair over her back, exposing her shoulder to me.

I’m gonna fix this too.I so badly want to tell her.So fucking badly.I want all this shit in her life to go away.But I don’t tell her, and it isn’t because I think she won’t believe me.I don’t tell her because I’m selfish.Because I want her here, to bereallyhere, not just waiting to leave.

I want her to want me, even if it’s only to avoid the weight of the world.Even if it’s only because she thinks I’m better than the man who claimed her soul first.

In some ways, I don’t want him to die.I want him quietly in the background, sidling her closer to me.

Because fuck, I like the way she’s looking at me.Like I’m her comfort.Like I’m absolved.

“You forgive too easily,” I whisper, running my knuckles up and down her arm.

Her smile slips, but she doesn’t pull away.“What do you think I should do?”she whispers back.“Should I kidnap you?Hurt you?String you up so others can use you?”

I shake my head, letting my eyes trail her bruised body.I fucked up.I really did.

“Point taken.”

My eyes draw to her when she cups my face, her brows pinching like she wants to say something.It takes her several seconds to try.

“You know, my entire adult life, I’ve only dated people a decade or more older than me?”She licks her lips nervously, the supple flesh glistening like she’s glazed with sugar I wanna lick away.

“Okay.”

“And I…” She swallows.“I was never attracted to them.And I hated myself for it.I think this is why I’ve never been married.”

Okay, I want to say again, not fully understanding her point.

“What I’m trying to say…” She sucks in a breath as she slowly unravels the towel.“Is that you’re right.I’m obsessed with age.I’ve spent my whole life pretending I didn’t want someone like you…”

The towel falls onto the bed, revealing tits I force myself not to reach for.Not right away.

I can see the rest of her unsaid words so clearly in her nervous eyes.I’m tired of pretending.

Chewing on one corner of my lip, I press my thumb to her collarbone and mark a path to her shoulder.My cock hardens, demanding what I’m not used to denying myself.

“Are you sure?”I whisper, tucking hair behind her ear.

She twists toward me and places her palm on my pant leg, her chest expanding sharply with her nervousness.Or maybe it isn’t nervousness.Maybe it’s lust.

“I don’t want my memory of tonight to be…”