Page 82 of Midnight of Ashes
“I know,” Hayden whispered. “I love you, Knox. Thank you for helping me feel like I belong. For giving me a home.”
My heart jerked in my chest. My brave, beautiful girl. She’d been through so much. I wished I could erase it all. “Wish you could feel how much I love you.”
“I do. I feel it every single day in everything you do.”
Everything in me twisted. “I need to let you go or we’re never going to leave this bed.”
Hayden’s stomach growled at that.
I laughed. “Okay, you get ready. I’ll meet you in the dining room. I need to go find East.”
Her brows pulled together. “He doesn’t hate me, right?”
“No. He doesn’t hate you.”
The problem was that Easton was falling in love with Hayden, and it was freaking him the hell out.
She nodded and slid out of bed. “I’ll meet you for breakfast.”
Hayden disappeared into the bathroom, and I hurried to pull on my jeans. I followed Easton’s scent down the hall to his bedroom. I didn’t bother knocking. I knew he’d just tell me to go away.
Opening the door, I found him staring out the window at the forest.
“I know Mom taught you to knock.”
“You’d just tell me to fuck off.”
“You said it, not me,” Easton muttered.
I crossed to him and gave him a little shove. “Stop being a sulky baby.”
Easton glared at me, the gold in his eyes sparking. “I told her I wanted to be with her, and she rejected me.”
I scoffed. “You basically told her that you wanted nothing to do with her, but the bond broke down your defenses, and you expected her to fall at your feet.”
“I didn’t?—”
“You did.” I sighed. “You know I love you, East. But you’ve been a real asshole to Hayden. You’ve hurt her. It’s going to take time to prove that you’re truly in this. And for her and not just the bond.”
Pain streaked across Easton’s face. “I didn’t mean to hurt her. I just—I couldn’t?—”
“You were scared.”
His gaze connected with mine. “I was fucking terrified. I still am.”
I gripped my twin’s shoulder. “Don’t let the fear win.”
“I’m trying. But it’s hard. When I saw her yesterday, everything in me shredded. It was the worst kind of pain.”
“Because you care about her.”
“And there’s a part of me that wishes I didn’t.”
My back teeth ground together. “She feels that, East. We’re too connected for her not to.”
Easton cursed and began to pace. “I can’t just turn it off.”
“I know that. But you do have control of your actions. Get to know her. Spend time with her. Make her feel like you’re invested in the relationship. Even if it’s hard for you.”
