“There was a tether between us. Gods save us when it snapped. Why couldn’t I feel this way for the man who’d claimed me? Our mouths were too close. All it would take was a shift and we’d collide. We’d crash into each other, and the shock waves would destroy us both. I needed him to say something mean. To strike a nerve. To bruise my heart. I needed him to hurt me so thoroughly, I’d never forgive him. “I hate you.” It should have broken the moment. It should have pissed him off. But he stared at me like I was something to behold. Something to cherish. Something to protect. “Yes, you do,” he said. “Don’t forget.” “Never.”