Dirty Little Mistake (Hard to Love #2)

Chapter 42

Trystan

T he hurt blazing in her eyes nearly stole my breath. She faltered when she saw me standing in the doorway, her shoulders stiffening. For a heartbeat, we stood frozen—her trembling, me blocking her escape route. She'd made it clear she wasn't in the mood for me right now, so I stepped aside, pressing my back against the cool wall, and she hurried past me.

Something moved in my peripheral view, and my gaze snapped over to see Owen walk in the same door Cam did moments ago.

"What the fuck did you do?" The tile was cold against my feet as I stepped into his space, close enough to count his breaths. "Did you fucking hurt her?"

The corner of his mouth lifted in that familiar smirk, the one that had always made my fists itch. "Aren't you a massive fucking hypocrite?" His words hung between us like smoke. "Funny thing about history—" he adjusted his shirt with deliberate slowness, "—is how quickly people forget their part in it." My hands twitched at my sides, and he noticed, lips curling. "But no worries, bro. She's all yours now." He spat the last word like poison.

My vision tunneled, edges burning red. Each word he spoke hammered against my skull until my knuckles found his jaw, the impact jarring up my arm.

He flew back, his hands flying up to protect his face as he slammed into the ground. He wasn't expecting it. "What the fuck?"

"I never lost her." I leaned in, letting each word fall like a stone between us. "She was always mine. That's why you did whatever you did to hurt her. And if you crossed a line..." I let the threat hang unfinished.

"I didn't mean to hurt her." He wiped blood from his lip with the back of his hand, pushing himself up from the floor. A bruise was already darkening along his jaw. "But let's not pretend like you didn't hurt her first."

"Stay the fuck away from her." I planted my feet, shoulders squared, daring him to make another move.

He rolled his shoulders back, that smirk still playing at his split lip. "What like you did?" He shook his head. "You broke her heart and then fucked her."

"Oh... I get it." A slow realization spread through me. I rocked back on my heels, letting my smile sharpen into something cruel. "That's what this is about." My tongue traced my lower lip. "See, that's where you're wrong." Each word fell deliberately, precise as a knife stroke. "I didn't fuck her." I leaned in close enough to watch his pupils dilate with rage. "She begged me to let her fuck me."

His face contorted, all pretense of control shattering. He lunged forward, telegraphing his punch from a mile away. I was already moving. He swung again, and I dodged it. He stumbled forward, falling to his knees.

I stepped in behind him. "The difference between me and you is that this is a game you want to win. This isn't a game for me. If I find out you hurt her to get back at me, just know I'm coming for you." I shoved at his back, pushing him forward to his hands, and walked away, running up the stairs to Cam's room.

Pacing the floor in front of her bedroom door, I listened for any sound that she might be awake. Nothing. I stopped, placing my hand on the door and sucking in a deep breath. I didn't want to go in if she was sleeping and wake her, but I needed to know she was okay.

The terrace.

Camryn almost always left the double doors from her room to the terrace open, and it just so happened that my room and her room shared the same terrace. I stormed into my room and through the double doors. The full moon shined bright, and the sound of rain hitting the roof echoed through the quiet night.

My bare feet found the path across the terrace, each step placed with the care of a thief. The rain misted against my skin.

She wasn't asleep, though. She was lying in her bed, staring into the endless dark sky.

Her eyes found mine through the darkness, and the world compressed into that single point of connection. Neither of us moved, barely breathing, as if the slightest disturbance might shatter whatever was building in the silence between us.

We stood like that for so long that I was starting to think she just wanted me to go away. But then she shifted in the bed and lifted the blanket, silently inviting me to join her, and all the tension I'd been holding released. Strolling to the bed, I reached back, ripping my shirt over my head and tossing it to the floor before climbing into the bed beside her.

We lay facing each other, our breath mingling in the darkness. Under the blanket, our legs tangled together, seeking warmth, seeking connection. The rain tapped against the terrace, a gentle counterpoint to my racing heart.

"Are you okay?" I whispered.

"Yeah," she sighed. "Owen and I broke up."

"Did he hurt you?"

She shook her head. "We decided we were better as friends."

"Oh." My brows furrowed. "So he didn't do anything wrong?"

"He did... but..."

"What did he do, Cam? Did he..."

"He did something really stupid, but honestly, I'm not angry. I'm not even really hurt. I'm just trying to figure out how this all got so messy."

I sucked in a heavy breath. "That's probably my fault." I reached out, brushing a strand of her dark off her face, pushing it behind her ear.

"When I kissed you on your birthday..." My fingers traced idle patterns on her shoulder, following paths I'd memorized months ago. "I never thought that kiss would lead to this." A shaky laugh escaped me. "I knew you had a crush." The memory of that night burned like whiskey in my chest. "I just didn't realize I did too." My hand stilled on her skin. "It was supposed to be one night, except it ended up being so much more."

Her breath caught, a tiny hitch that I felt, more than heard. "Lead to what?"

"To me being in love with you." The words fell from my lips like stones into still water, rippling through the darkness between us.

"Don't say things you don't mean, Trystan." Her voice trembled slightly. She pulled back just enough to break our contact, fingers twisting in the sheets between us. "I don't think I can..."

I shifted closer to her, our bodies fused together and our legs locked. "I mean it, Camryn, and that's why this is all my fault: I couldn't admit it to myself. When I woke up with your naked body against mine the morning after your birthday, I panicked, but I spent the next two years thinking about nothing but you." I brushed my lips across hers. "I never wanted to fall in love." My thumb traced the curve of her cheekbone, memorizing its shape. "I never wanted a girlfriend." The admission scraped raw in my throat. "I never wanted anything—" My hand slid into her hair, cradling the back of her head "—until I kissed you that night on the terrace."

Her eyes squeezed shut, tears clinging to her lashes like morning dew. "I..." The word trembled between us. Her fingers curled against my chest, caught between pushing away and pulling closer. "I don't know what to believe anymore."

"Let me prove it to you." I traced the curve of her jawline with my thumb, watching her eyes flutter closed at the touch. My other hand found her hip, gentle now where I'd been rough before. "Let me show you how much I love you. Give me another chance."

"I think we are confusing love with lust."

I shook my head. "That would make this so much easier, but... no, I am in love with you, Cam. When you're not with me, I miss you. You're all I can think about. Watching you with him felt like you reached into my chest, ripped my heart out, and stomped on it. And what was crazy is I wanted to feel that pain because I wasn't ready to give up on us."

"It's hard to believe you." Her fingertips ghosted across my chest. Her eyes tracked the movement, avoiding mine until the last possible moment. "It's hard to tell the difference between love and lust with you." The sheets rustled as she shifted back, creating a canyon of inches between us. "And it's hard to trust that you won't freak out and hurt me again."

"Then let me prove it." I bridged the gap she'd created, sliding my palm along her jaw until she couldn't look away, couldn't hide from the truth in my eyes.

She lifted her lips to mine. "Okay." She pressed her lips to mine in a soft kiss that nearly stole my breath. It wasn't desperate or needy. It said that she loved me too without saying the words.

"Just want to make sure we are clear." My arms encircled her waist, drawing her into the shelter of my body. "You are mine, and I am yours." My grip tightened, protective and possessive in equal measure. "I don't want to share you, and I don't want anyone but you."

Her fingers splayed across my chest, right above my heart. "No more lies." Her fingers found mine in the darkness, intertwining with quiet determination. "We are both honest and upfront about everything."

"No more lies." I brought our joined hands to my lips, sealing the promise with a kiss. "I promise."

Her body relaxed against mine, tension melting away. "Will you stay with me tonight?"

"Yeah." I gathered her closer, breathing in the familiar scent of her shampoo. The sound of rain against the window played counterpoint to our synchronized breaths. Some things didn't need to be said aloud—like how I planned to spend every night for the rest of my life exactly like this.