Page 95 of Ghost

“It is.”

“I shouldn’t like it.” Luna’s cheeks burn with her blush, and her neck colors with excitement.

“You shouldn’t,” I agree.

She nods, swallowing hard. “What if I do?”

I take in her expression. I thought her rosy cheeks were anger or irritation, but now, I sense something else.

“Do you?”

Her eyes dart off as her cheeks warm. “I didn’t want to. At first, I was embarrassed thinking about what you might have seen and all the things I admitted to you. But you know all of that—you’ve seen all of that—and you still want me?”

“Of course I fucking want you. You’re the only woman on the damn planet worth wanting. I can’t take my eyes off you. Literally.”

Her cheeks redden.

“That’s why I didn’t say anything,” she says. “Because you weren’t the only one watching, Marcus. I saw you too. I’ve wanted you since the first time I looked up at you, standing in that coffee shop, totally out of place. I want your quiet side, your protective side. I want your light and your dark side. You see me—all of me. And you’re still here.”

I cup her jaw in my hands, looking down at her. “I promised I wasn’t letting you go, remember? I’ll always be here for you.”

“Then tell me the rest of the story.” She angles her chin up. “I already know bad things you’ve done, and you haven’t scared me off yet. Please tell me what Legacy was talking about.”

“Because I’ve hurt people, Luna,” I admit. “I’ve killed people.”

“I figured.”

“It’s not pretty. I drag it out. I make them hurt just likeI do inside. And when they’re almost gone—on the brink of death—I bring them back and start over. I give them all nine lives just so I can take each one. Just so I can make them suffer.”

Her blue eyes stare into mine, and I wait for her to pull away, but she doesn’t.

“Does that scare you?” I ask her.

“Would you hurt me?”

“No.”

She rubs the back of my hand. “Then no, it doesn’t. If anything, I feel like it makes sense now.”

“What does?”

“Do you know why my gamer tag is Snowy Owl?”

I shake my head.

“Because they represent a fresh start.” She trails her fingers down my cut. “They’re a symbol of something new. We don’t all do it right the first time, or the second, or the third. But if we’re lucky, we get enough chances to fix it. That’s what you gave me, Marcus. When I met you in Albuquerque, and you talked about starting over, you gave me another life without realizing it. So everything you do isn’t bad or hurtful. Sometimes, you heal, and that’s what you did for me. You gave me a second chance.”

“You’re too sweet if you’re trying to see good in me.”

“Or you’re too stubborn to see it yourself.”

She might be right. This might be wrong. But when she doesn’t pull away, I draw her in. I plant my mouth on hers, and she gives me more than a new life and a fresh start. She baptizes my tarnished soul.

30

Luna

I shouldn’t be turnedon by my boyfriend stalking me, but I am.