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“Tempest,” he said. “I’m not dead yet.”
“No thanks to you. Anson…they would have killed you. Ripped you apart limb by limb.”
He stared off into the distance. “It was the only way I knew how to give you what you wanted. To make amends.”
“What I wanted…what I wanted? God. That’s the trouble with you. You never ask me what I want.”
Finally, he locked eyes with me. Those beautiful, piercing blues. Suddenly, I was right back there at the Club that very first night when I’d seen him as I danced from the stage. As I prepared to auction myself to Turk. Heat. Desire…love.
“I should have known,” I said. “I blamed you.”
“Because it was my fault.”
“You didn’t know,” I said. “What they did to you. Everything they did to you. You were right. I was lucky. You lost your family. Had them ripped apart right in front of you. The fae…they left you no choice. When they offered you a way to live, you…”
“Should have let them kill me,” he said. “I was selfish.”
“You were barely more than a boy,” I said. “They broke you. They broke us all.”
“No,” he said. “Not you. Tempest, you’re the strongest person I’ve ever known. You’re…perfect.”
“Dr. Olivet said that what you did to me….the soul binding. She said it saved me. My connection to you is what kept me immune from the curse Lissa used on Jarred. What made the packs sick.”
Anson squeezed his eyes shut. When he opened them, his were filled with pain. “She told me that, too. But if I’d never come here, none of this would have happened. Jarred wouldn’t have challenged me. I wouldn’t have nearly turned Tyrannous. What you did that day Tempest? You blame yourself for nearly killing me. But you saved me. I wouldn’t want to live if I’d become that thing. I’ve never thanked you for that. All I’ve ever done is bring you and your family pain.”
“No.” I choked the word out. “Anson…don’t you get it? You brought me to life.”
“I didn’t know,” he said. “I swear to you. I went to Lissa, thinking she was the answer. I didn’t want to be this thing anymore. This thing that could hurt you and bring you so much pain. I only wanted to be the best parts of myself or nothing at all. I swear to God, Tempest. I didn’t remember being X after she did what she did. When I met you in Chicago…I thought…I didn’t.”
“Shh. There’s no point to it. All the regret. We were both used by Lissa. Jarred too. But it’s over. She’s gone. The fae can’t hurt any of us anymore.”
He shook his head. “But they’re still in me. We’re still soulbound. I can’t free you from that.”
I reached for him. “Look at me. Anson…I’ve spent so much of the last few years trying to forget X. Punishing myself. Denying the truth.”
“I want you to forget him,” he said. “He’s caused you nothing but pain.”
I went to him. I felt the pull. It took my breath from me. Heat rose within me. Strong. Consuming.
The hunger.
“X,” I whispered. He was so close, but not nearly close enough. He stayed still as stone as I straddled his lap. I felt him grow hard beneath me. His eyes flashed.
“X.”
“Tempest…”
“I love you.”
He held my gaze. Oh, he was there. He was Anson. That angelic face. But the devil he was simmered just below the surface. I knew the answer.
“I love you,” I said again. “X. I love you.”
I slid my hand beneath his first. Angled my head until our lips met. He stayed rigid, keeping his hands at his sides, but I felt him twitch with desire, fighting for self-control.
We were alone. The packs had dispersed, heading back to their various territories throughout Wild Lake. Pat had gone with the Tullys for now. There was no one to see us. To hear us. For miles.
“X,” I said, letting my voice rise. I unbuttoned my shirt and let it fall off my shoulders. My nipples scraped against the rough fabric of his shirt.
