Page 49 of Raise Me Up

I lift my head up to meet her eyes and share the warning I came here to give, hoping she refuses to listen to it. “I’m no good at these things.Labels terrify me. This isn’t something I’ve ever wanted, and I can’t say for sure that it ever will be.”

Her fingers stroke from my temple down to my jaw. I’ve never given anyone as much control as I’m giving her now. Never had two people flip my world upside-down like the two of them did in one evening.

“This is enough,” she murmurs. “Half or a whole, you are enough for me.”

Her words are a serrated knife to the chest. This isn’t fucking fair. She deserves more than that. She deserves more than me.

Pushing through the discomfort in my chest, I kiss her again. I kiss the tears that sneak out of her eyes. I kiss her cheeks and her chin. The world could be burning around us, and I wouldn’t be able to stop kissing her.

When a frown pulls her lips down, I ask, “What’s wrong?”

Her hands slip away from me. “What about Beau?”

Silent for a few moments, I study her expression, wanting to know exactly what she’s thinking.

But I came here to offer up honesty. I don’t want to put an end to whatever is developing with Beau, which further proves how much of an asshole I am. I’m already messing this up before we’ve even started.

“I don’t think I can push him away. Not right now,” I admit.

She swallows. “What if I tell you I don’t want you to do that?”

My heart gives an extra thud. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” she whispers, her gaze dropping to where her finger has started tracing a tattoo on my forearm. “Liam, I think I like him. Is it wrong to have feelings for two people at once?”

I hate that she’s constantly fighting that voice in her head seeking to make her feel less, but neither of us is ignorant of the cost Hail paid when he fell in love with a man. Unconventional has no place in her family.

“Wrong by whose standards, angel?” I challenge.

She pushes out her lips. I lean in to sink my teeth into the bottom one and then kiss away the pain. “The only thing to consider is howyoufeel about spending time with both of us.”

I watch her process my words as I run my fingers over her hair.

“I feel good with both of you.” A smile forms on her full lips, stopping my pulse. There’s that little glimpse of rebellion that has me hooked on her. “It feels like I’m breaking rules.”

Grinning, I kiss her mouth. “Good. Go ahead and keep breaking them.”

fifteen

Stasi

Having Liam close is a hazard to my health. My poor heart drums a frantic beat in my chest as he steps all that lethal inked muscle into the shower with me.

I’m a chronic over-thinker, but I’m doing my best to ignore the tendrils of worry seeking to worm through my brain. I refuse to rebuild a wall between us while he’s actively working to break it down.

If he can be brave, so can I.

Liam drapes his strong arms around me, easing my back against his chest as steam curls around us. I rest my head on his pec and close my eyes.

His words from earlier echo in my head.If I had a heart, you would be holding it in your hands.

That right there is the root of the problem, isn’t it? That stupid lie he was forced to believe when he was a kid. That he’s somehow broken or worthless.

Even if he decides he’s not cut out for relationships, he’s a permanent scar I’ll carry around on my heart forever.

Liam turns me in his arms and nudges my chin up with a knuckle. “Your mind is loud.”

I stare into his eyes. With only one light on over the vanity and his pupils blown wide, they’re almost hauntingly black.