Page 125 of Bound Lies

“I can’t believe you just⁠—”

“Do you really think I care that you were a virgin? Because it was never about that!” He paces the living room like he’s about to combust. “It’s about the fact that you took away my chance to give you something better, Riley. Because you deserve better than a quick fuck on the edge of a pool. You deserve… Fuck, you deserve rose petals and candles and all that romantic crap.”

At a complete loss for words, heart pounding in my chest, I watch Kieran pace back at forth.

His expression morphs from angry to devastated as he runs his fingers through his hair, messing up the slight curls as he looks anywhere but at me.

When it comes, his voice is raw. “I care about you. More than I should. And yeah, maybe I’m a cold bastard most of the time, but not with you. Not with…this.”

My walls start to crumble.

My throat is too thick with tears to speak, so I bring my knees to my chest and try not to fall apart as he continues.

“And when I found out that you were a virgin in the middle of a fucking fight, as if it didn’t matter…” He shakes his head and looks away, the muscle in his jaw ticking. “It matters because you matter, Riley. You deserve the world, and I want to be the one to give it to you.”

The air leaves my lungs in a rush and all the anger I’ve been clinging to crumbles like ash in my hands.

“I didn’t mean to lie. I just… I didn’t want to make it a big thing.”

“You didn’t lie. You just didn’t give me the chance to show you how much I care.”

The silence stretches between us, but neither one of us makes to close the distance between us, despite the fact that every part of me aches to touch him.

“You shouldn’t have left.” Kieran sighs as his shoulders sag. “I went out of my mind with worry.”

“I’m sorry. But I needed some space. I even thought about going to Lucy’s, but if something happened to her because of me, I’d never forgive myself.”

“So, you picked a hotel with zero security instead?” His eyes flick to mine, and I wince at the flash of anger reflected in them. “You don’t get it, do you? I don’t care how mad you are at me, you can’t just walk into danger to avoid an uncomfortable conversation.”

“I wasn’t avoiding it!”

He snorts.

“Okay, I was. But only because I didn’t want to hear you say that you regretted what happened.”

“I would never say that. Because I don’t regret what we did. But I do regret not giving you something better.”

“Okay…”

“And if you ever try to run from me again, Riley, I swear⁠—”

“You’ll cuff me to a radiator?”

He smiles, shaking his head. “Don’t tempt me.”

He walks over and sits on the edge of the coffee table in front of me. He leans forward, resting his forearms on his thighs and looks up at me under his thick, dark lashes. “I’m not going anywhere, so stop trying to give me reasons to walk away because they’re not going to work.”

I meet his eyes and for the first time since this mess started, I believe him.

“I’m sorry I left.”

Kieran exhales as he rubs his hands up and down his thighs.

“I’m sorry for handcuffing you to the car.”

I chuckle.

“And I promise that the next time I handcuff you, it won’t be to a moving vehicle.”