40. Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty
Dacre
The rain has stopped. There’s a faint trickle on the skylight.
My phone vibrates on the nightstand in a steady buzz, stopping, then starting again. I leave it. Instead, I run my hands through her hair while she rests next to me. Her heartbeat is a steady thrum, and her scent has returned to the beautiful sweetness I’ve come to love.
What will tomorrow bring?
I trace the softness of her lashes. I’m going to fight for her because she deserves it.
We lie naked in the wreckage and ruin of everything that came before and all the expectations of others.
My feather touch causes her to stir.
“You can take it back,” I whisper. “It won’t change how I feel.”
Those three little words haunt me. How could someone like Emma love me?
She interlaces her fingers with mine, placing them over her waist.
“Never. Now go to sleep.”
I didn’t think anyone could love me. My family never did.
I squeeze her. “I won’t let you down.”
She kisses the back of my hand, and sleep gets closer as I let go.
Of the past.
Of the disappointments.
Of any future that doesn’t involve Emma.