Page 101 of Cruel Embers
Pulling my bottom lip between my teeth, I swallow.
“Please?” he whispers.
Unable to deny him, I open my eyes, his focus on mine.
“I’m sorry, Vi, for pushing you away because of my mistakes and poor judgement.”
He brings his hand up to my face, knuckles gently dusting over my cheekbone. I love it when he does that.
“And in case you didn’t already know, I’m crazy about you, Vi. I should have told you the other day that I’m in love with you too.”
My lips part, my jaw dropping open.
“Why do you seem so surprised?” he asks with that typical Nathan gleam in his eyes.
I lick my now dry lips. “I never told you that with the expectation of you saying it back.”
He laughs, causing my lower region to pulse heavily. It might have only been a week since we’ve been together, but it might as well be a year. My body yearns for him when we’re apart.
“That's not why I’m telling you. I felt it long before now. I was just too scared to say it.”
Tilting his head slightly, his eyes flick to my mouth and then back to hold my gaze.
“Why?”
“Because you once told me you thought you were hard to love, which you’re not, by the way. But it’s how I feel about myself.”
I sit forward, the wine almost spilling from the movement. Nathan takes it and places it on the coffee table before turning back to face me.
“You’re not hard to love, Nathan,” I reply.
“No?”
I shake my head.
His lips curl up. “Not even when I’m being a colossal jerk?” he questions.
Laughing, I link my fingers with his. “No, not even when you’re being a colossal jerk.”
This time he gives me a full smile before his face turns serious again.
“I’m aware I have some issues that I need to address. It would seem that after everything that happened, it brought them to the surface, and it’s time for me to deal with that.”
Bringing our joined hands to his mouth, he turns them over and kisses the inside of my wrist.
“But I want to know if you can forgive me for hurting you?”
I forgave him as soon as it happened.
“Yes, of course.”
His brows draw inward. “What, just like that?”
I nod. “Life’s too short for petty bullshit, Nathan. I won’t use an accident and a mistake as a weapon.” My other hand moves to his face, stroking his cheek. “Did it hurt me the way you left? Of course, it did, but I’d rather argue with you than have radio silence. It was suffocating, Nathan. I hated not talking to you. You’re not just my lover. You’re my best friend.”
His smile would make my legs falter if I were standing. “Don’t get me wrong, Charlotte is my person, my ride or die, my soul sister. But you, Nathan, are mine.”
We both move simultaneously, our faces meeting in the middle, our mouths a breath's width apart. For a few excruciating seconds, neither of us makes up the final distance.
