Page 40 of Between Passion and Revenge, Part One (The Griot Chronicles #1)

“In complete honesty,” he says, his lips grazing my ear, “Bambi is just a friend. But I won’t lie to you.

We have had sex before. It was years ago when we were seniors in high school, but I am telling you the truth when I say it was only that one time, and we agreed never to cross that boundary again.

We’re like siblings, and there’s nothing romantic going on there. ”

With each word, anger circles my body.

“Maybe there’s nothing romantic happening for you, but she hasn’t gotten that memo. She doesn’t see you as a sibling, Storm.”

I hate this. I hate this jealous, insecure person I’m turning into.

“Whether or not that’s true is irrelevant, Shae, because I don’t want her.”

I’m almost offended for Storm for how aggressively disbelieving my expression is.

“Shae,” he grinds out. “What can I do to convince you that you’re the one I want? That you’re the one I want to be with?”

Everything within me—my anger, my confusion—halts at the stressed sound in his voice.

“What? What are you even saying right now, Storm? You’ve been distant, even after the push and pull of saying you want to be with me for weeks, and now I’m just supposed to accept that I’m the one you want? When you have other girls calling you, and I can’t even get a date for pizza lately?”

“Shae—”

“No,” I interrupt, on the edge of crying. I let the emotion come. “This is confusing, Storm. I don’t know what to trust or what to believe when it comes to you. Can you blame me for being protective of my heart?”

“Shae!” I freeze when he drops my legs from around his waist and grabs my face, pinning my head back to the wall and forcing me to look him in the eye. If any other man were to make this move, I’d scream for the cops and try to knee him in the balls.

But with Storm’s broad palm cupping my chin, his firm but not painful fingers pressed to my cheek…I can’t explain why I go limp in his hold.

It’s almost like being caught in the gravitational pull of a black hole, unknowing of what’s on the other side.

“Listen to me carefully. When I saw that fucker try to take you away that night at Velour, try to hurt you…I’ve never felt rage like I felt in that moment. You have no idea how crazy I am over you. What I’d do for you.”

My body goes cold at his words. Flashes of that night rush to the surface, none of them making sense. Nothing but…

“What happened to the guy who attacked us, Storm? What did you do?” My voice is reed-thin, like I’m about to pass out from lack of oxygen.

He bores into my eyes, so many things are communicated in his expression.

“What happened,” he says slowly, “is he decided to try to hurt you. And that decision cost him greatly.”

Storm moves his hand from my jaw to my throat, and then down to my chest. Over my heart.

“But he won’t make that choice again,” he finishes.

Cold. Detached. Lethal.

That’s the only way to describe how he explains that night to me. I try to swallow, but my tongue seems dehydrated, sticking to the roof of my mouth.

Fear. I should be terrified right now because as I’m putting two and two together….

“Was it…was it a fatal decision, Storm?” The words are barely a breath.

Storm doesn’t move an inch, doesn’t flinch. Instead, he says, “That’s not the question you want to ask, Sweetness.”

And that says everything I could possibly need to know.

Now to decide what to do with that information because…because the moral compass that’d been drilled into me every Sunday and reinforced in my home by my father is absent.

The more depraved his actions, the more relaxed I become. Pliant.

Surrendering.

“With you, I feel light, but there’s darkness within me.

With anyone else, I’m quick to anger, I struggle to access empathy,” he continues, his eyes never leaving mine.

“But with you, those things come easily. You are sunshine and heart. You keep me grounded. And it makes me want to give you the world and be the man you need me to be.”

“You shouldn’t change yourself for anyone, Storm. Not for anyone except yourself.”

He grins, but the look in his eyes makes the movement sad. Gentle fingers tuck a stray curl behind my ear.

“My world is breaking right now, Shae. Things with my dad…they’re not good.”

I frown, searching his features for more of an explanation.

“I’m sorry,” I say, and he blinks slowly.

“No, I’m sorry. I haven’t treated you like you matter to me, so no wonder we’re back at square one. No wonder you’re confused.”

Soft, his touches are so soft, setting me on edge.

“I just don’t want to be hurt,” I murmur.

“I don’t want to hurt you, Shae. All I want to do is protect you. I’ll do anything to protect you.”

Soft kisses touch my eyelids, my cheeks. I’m at a loss for words.

“Shae…you have the power to completely break me, so now that I’ve shown you it all, I need to know if you want this. Not just so we can move forward, but for self-preservation. You need to decide.”

My heart hammers in my chest as I process his words. This is the moment he’s been alluding to, the ultimatum he’s been building toward. It’s terrifying and exhilarating all at once.

“Storm,” I say, my voice steadier than I expect. “What you’re asking of me feels big.”

I’m scared.

He runs the side of his face against mine, and the sensation of his bristly five o’clock shadow is downright erotic when it rasps against my cheek.

“What I’m asking is big, and I mean it when I say I don’t want to hurt you. But it’s clear you’ll trust me with your body, but not your heart. And I’m a greedy man. I want both, Sweetness.”

My breath freezes in my chest, and he pulls back, his intent to kiss me clear on his face. But when he takes in my reaction, he stops. The side of his jaw ticks for a second before he releases a deep breath, looking down at where our chests touch.

After long, thudding heartbeats, he releases me. My body immediately yearns for the contact, and yet my brain is thankful for the space to breathe.

“Take all the time you need, Shae, but you know where I stand. I’ll be here, waiting for your answer.”

When he opens the front door, my mind is a whirlwind of emotions. Can I trust him? Can I take the leap and risk it all for a chance at something real with Storm Sandoval—a man who’s gone to the extreme for me?

This is insane, Shae. Completely insane.

“But until then, I’m giving you space. I want you to know you’re making this decision—whatever decision that may be—from a place of clarity. And if you’re feeling even a fraction like I do, I know it’s difficult to think when I’m around.”

He looks so understanding, so tender, so exhausted that I start to feel a little bad about all of this. But then I remember this is a messy, messy situation, and Storm Sandoval could have anyone he wants. I remember there’s another person in the mix, demanding his time and attention.

Secrets. Ghosts.

…Half-truths?

“Okay, Storm,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest as I take a step to the side. My position is almost like I’m holding myself together.

Maybe I am.

Without another word, Storm kisses me on the forehead and guides me out the door with a gentle hand. When he knocks on the apartment across the hall, a vaguely familiar man opens nearly immediately.

“This is my best friend I was telling you about. Riale will take you home safely.”

He gives his friend a hard look—one that telegraphs a whole monologue without uttering a word. Riale tilts his chin down in acknowledgement, and Storm places one last chaste kiss to the side of my face.

“Don’t keep me waiting long, Sweetness,” he murmurs in my ear.

And then he’s gone.

As I make my way out of his apartment building with the burly man Storm’s assigned to guard me and the weight of his confession heavy on my heart, I know one thing for certain: Whatever decision I make, it will change the course of my life forever.