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I want to see the lines near his eyes crinkle when he smiles. That’s what my dreams are made of. Older, growly, protective men. Especially one named Griffin Sinclaire.
I’m sure he thinks I don’t notice him peeking at me out his kitchen window, but I do. Boys are dumb like that.
This is what I wanted Nadia to see. That two people can be happy together. Gentle together. There can be trust and love, and she isn’t too broken to have this.
But if Griffin is a flame, I’m a moth, destined to dance in his flames. My sense of self-preservation goes out the window when he looks at me like that.
A sigh leaves him in a ragged whoosh. Goosebumps dance across my arms under the muggy night air. His voice is like a feather dragging across my skin as we face off. “You drive me crazy.” And then he kisses me.
My eyes shoot up, right into the warm pools of bourbon that are Nadia’s. The only bourbon I crave these days.
“Age is just a number, little Dalca. And the only number that counts is eight.” She points over to where Griffin stands, panting and glowing under the scorching sun. “Because that’s how many abs I can count on him.”
The girl is temptation personified without even trying. And maybe that’s why I’m such a goner.
Anything that might be wrong melts away with the rightness of us.
She shines so bright, so golden. She deserves someone to match. I’m wondering if the beauty is in the contrast. Nothing makes gold sparkle quite like black.
I watch her go and feel a jerk at the center of my chest, like she’s got me by a leash and just gave me a tug. My lips quirk up. This girl has me by the throat, and I’m not even sure she realizes it.
She turns, eyes finding mine over her shoulder, and my breath dies in my lungs. She’s so beautiful, it almost hurts to look at her sometimes.
“You match this spot perfectly.” She makes a small, deprecating laugh and peeks up at me. “Yeah?” “Beautiful and untamed. It’s what I love about this place, too.”
“I don’t care what other people think of me. I’m long past that, and I’m not asking your brother’s permission to take the one thing that has breathed life back into me since everything fell to pieces.
“Just give me right now. Give me one day at a time. With you, they’re always better, and I just want more of the better days.”
And as we rock into each other quietly, slowly—gently—a perfect tangle of limbs, I’m pretty sure I cross something monumental off my list without even trying.
After spending the better part of the last several years alone, I know what it is to feel at ease around someone. Not just like them but feel like they belong with you, and you belong with them.
I love that she doesn’t want anything from me. She doesn’t care about my money, my past, my fame. She wants a quiet, simple life. And I think she might want it with me, which is the most incredible feeling.
To know that someone wants you for you, not for what you can do for them. It warms me in a completely unfamiliar way.
Just being near you makes the world feel like a better place.” He swallows and I watch his Adam’s apple bob beneath the stubbled skin on his throat. “You make me feel happy.”
Our eyes find each other like it’s the most natural thing in the world, like we’re opposite ends of a magnet. Drawn together in the most intrinsic of ways. Even if we shouldn’t be.
He doesn’t treat me like I’m damaged. He takes all my little broken bits and mixes them with his own.
He laughs, scrubbing a hand over his face. “I’m in love with a fucking crazy person.”
“I’ve spent years scaring people away by being a growly asshole. And then you waltzed in, and even when I’m on my worst behavior, when other people back away slowly, you just sit there smiling.
When we’re together, it’s like nothing else exists. The world dissolves around us.
“You are the very best kind of torture, Nadia. My special brand of hell. But I want you so badly I don’t even mind the flames.”
What’s between us isn’t skin deep. It’s soul deep. We understand each other in a way that no one else can. Based on the way he’s looking at me right now, he feels the same.
I’d give this woman anything she wants. A limb? An organ? A clean break. But not waiting for her? That’s not even a consideration. That’s not even possible.
Mountain Arnica Used for healing cuts and bruises. Considered a love charm in some cultures. Reminds me of another wildflower I know who heals a bruised heart and wounded soul so fucking effortlessly—my love charm. My reason.
It’s funny how something you didn’t even know you had can come to mean so much to you.
This place is yours whenever you want it. With me. Without me. No strings attached. I want you to have it. I want to see you spread your wings and soar. To see all your dreams come true.”
“I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life. But you’re not one of them. You’re the happiest accident I’ve ever known. The very best decision I’ve ever made. My reason.”
