Page 95 of The Broken Prince

He grabbed me by the arm and tried to pull me back.

I twisted out of his grasp then slapped him across the face. “Take a hint and fuck off.”

He closed his eyes briefly, swallowing the pain I’d just inflicted.

I turned away again.

He grabbed me once more, this time digging his hands into my hair as he forced me against the wall. “I’m sorry.” He cradled my face in his palms as he pressed into me, as he blocked out the cold and kept me warm. “I—I shouldn’t have said any of that.”

“Why are you here?”

He stilled at the question, clearly having no idea what I was asking.

I pushed his hands down. “Why are you here? Why have you vowed to protect me when I mean so little to you?”

“You don’t mean little to me—”

“You just treated me like a fucking whore who was paid for the night. You fucked me in the ass and then kicked me out right after. Practically threw me onto the street.”

He clenched his eyes shut as he cringed.

“So, why are you here? What the fuck are you doing—”

“Because you mean the fucking world to me—”

“Stop lying. A man doesn’t treat a woman like that if he cares for her. You know damn well how I feel about you, but that doesn’t mean I’ll tolerate this fucking bullshit. You may as well return to wherever the fuck you came from because whatever the fuck this is is now over—”

“That’s the problem.” His voice came out quiet, defeated, broken.

My eyes shifted back and forth between his, trying to read his meaning on his face because I had no idea what he was saying.

“I told you I’m leaving…” He stepped back slightly, the air dry and cold, his breath escaping as a cloud of vapor. “And I’m not coming back. I meant those words when I said them to you, and I still mean them now.”

“I’m sorry…I don’t understand.”

He looked away, his handsome face tight in consternation.

“There is no scenario where we end up together—”

“You’ve said this a million times already—”

“Then why didn’t you listen?” He was angry again, angry like he’d been inside the cottage. “Stop. This.”

“Stop what?”

“This.” He placed his hand on my chest, right where my heart was settled. His face was harder than it’d ever been, his eyes wide in rage. “What you feel…I will never reciprocate. I can’t reciprocate.” He dropped his hand and stepped back, breathing hard as he looked at anything else but me.

It took me seconds to understand the implication of his words. “I knew it.”

He still wouldn’t look at me.

“You can read minds…”

He dragged his palm across his hard jaw, his other hand on his hip, uncomfortable like a caged animal that had no route of escape.

I was embarrassed for a moment that Aurelias knew the full depth of my desire, understood my desperation for his mind, body, and soul. He knew every thought that came across my mind, all the secrets I would never tell another person. But then that embarrassment faded…because I wasn’t ashamed of my feelings. “I love you—”

“Don’t.” His eyes found mine again, full of menace. “I told you—”