Chapter 26 #2
“You’d be giving up a lot,” I said, moving closer still to him.
My eyes couldn’t stay still; they roamed his face with hungry desperation—taking in his dark eyes, the faint stubble lining his jaw, the mouth I had absolutely not spent endless nights thinking about.
We were inches apart, and that last sliver of space between us felt more painful than any physical wound I’d ever taken.
“It would be worth it,” he murmured, low and certain.
Something inside me shattered. Whether it was restraint, fear, or the last fragments of my sanity, I couldn’t say, and my body surged forward before my thoughts could catch up.
I kissed him.
Baron didn’t hesitate, not for a single heartbeat.
A startled sound escaped him, half-gasp, half-relief, and then his hands were on me, one arm circling my waist, the other sliding up my back as though he’d wanted to do exactly this for far too long.
He pulled me in with a fierce, almost desperate certainty, kissing me back with a fervor that nearly sent me toppling.
I clutched at his shoulders, fingers digging into the thick fabric of his cloak to keep myself steady as heat flooded my entire body.
There was nothing gentle or tentative about the way he kissed me. It was months of longing and restraint exploding all at once, the culmination of every near-touch and every lingering glance. He kissed me like he’d been holding his breath for ages and had finally, finally found air.
And I matched him.
Every ounce of feeling I had tried and failed to deny was poured into that kiss, every night spent lying beside him pretending not to notice the warmth of his body.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer, refusing to let him go as the world beyond us melted into insignificance.
His breath mingled with mine, warm and ragged; his hands trembled slightly where they held me, as if he still didn’t quite believe this moment was real.
I had never, never, felt anything like this. Nothing in my life had prepared me for the sheer magnitude of the sensation, for the way it surged through me so completely that it stole every coherent thought. There was only this moment. Only us.
We kissed for what felt like forever and no time at all, tangled in each other, finally giving voice to everything that had been simmering and smoldering between us for months.
When we finally broke apart, just barely, our foreheads remained pressed together, our breaths uneven, our hearts racing in perfect unison.
We were going to escape.
I was going to be free.
And Baron was going to come with me.
An incensed voice sliced through the air, dragging us violently back to reality. “Baron!”
We jolted apart as though scalded. My breath snagged in my throat as we spun toward the intruder. The sheriff stood at the mouth of the cave, framed by the pale morning light, arms crossed, face carved in fury, his eyes burning straight through me.
“You’re immediately relieved of any and all duties pertaining to this girl.” Before I could even process the words, he lunged forward, fisted a brutal handful of my hair, and wrenched me upward.
A sharp cry burst from my lips.
“Don’t!” Baron shouted, vaulting to his feet. “Leave her alone!”
The sheriff twisted harder, forcing my head back until tears sprang to my eyes. I bit down on my tongue to keep from crying out and giving him the satisfaction.
“I see what’s going on here.” His voice was low and venomous. “Using your tricks on simple guards is one thing, but you will not sink your devilish claws into my son.”
I froze.
His…what?
The world seemed to tilt under my feet. Realization crashed over me in tumultuous waves as I looked back at Baron, betrayed. He stood still as a statue, shoulders raised slightly, palms half-lifted, helpless and apologetic. He didn’t deny it.
“You…” I choked out. “You’re his?”
Something inside me broke. The warmth of our kiss, all that hope, relief and closeness…it all instantly curdled into something vile. Disgust burned through my chest, bleeding hot into my stomach, and the sheriff saw it.
His lip curled into a slow, triumphant sneer. “Lover boy didn’t tell you that little piece of information, did he?” He chuckled darkly. “Well played, Baron. Well played.”
Chills seized my body. This had all been a game to them, and I had lost. The sheriff leaned in, his breath rancid against my ear.
“How does it feel?” he whispered. “Knowing you have no one in the world who cares for you? He would never love someone like you. You’re nothing to him. Nothing at all.”
His words carved straight through me. My lungs locked. My vision blurred.
I was a fool. I’d been taken in and used.
Against all my initial determination to never trust Baron, I’d been slowly reeled in.
I’d let my defenses down, and I’d been duped for it.
That was what I got for trusting someone.
I had never felt so completely vulnerable in my entire life.
I had handed Baron every secret bit of my heart, piece by piece, over the past months, and he had let me.
Baron looked stricken, devastated, pleading. “Laurel—” His voice cracked. “That isn’t what happened. I swear it. I swear!”
“Shut up!” the sheriff bellowed. “Shut up right now, boy, or you’ll be sorry!”
Baron instantly went silent. He dropped his gaze, shoulders tight, flinching like someone who had learned the cost of disobedience the hard way. All the vague hints he’d given me about his father suddenly slid together into a horrifying, perfect picture.
The sheriff laughed—an ugly, victorious sound. “Come on, brat.”
With that, he dragged me bodily toward the cave entrance, my scalp screaming with every step, as he hauled me toward the blacksmith to sever the chain between Baron and me.
“Wait!” Baron burst out again, desperation cracking through his restraint.
But the sheriff yanked me harder, cutting him off, and all I could think was:
I’m a fool.
I’m a fool.
I’m a fool.
The pain of it was so sharp I almost didn’t feel the cold.