Chapter 10
JULIET
Everything exploded the next evening near the marina.
Bastian had been down there since late afternoon, finishing some repair work on one of the old fishing boats that my dad wanted ready for the weekend.
I told Dad I was going for a walk to clear my head after another tense dinner where everyone kept watching us too closely.
The truth was simpler: I missed Bastian. We'd only been apart for a few hours, but it already felt too long.
The sun had gone down, leaving the marina quiet and shadowed. I found him wiping grease off his hands near the storage sheds, his T-shirt clinging to his chest from the humid evening air. The second he saw me, that familiar heat flared in his eyes.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he said, but he was already reaching for me.
“I know,” I murmured, stepping into his arms. “I just… I needed to see you.”
We lasted maybe thirty seconds pretending we could be normal. Then he pulled me behind one of the old sheds, out of sight from the main dock, and kissed me like he’d been starving for me all day.
His hands slid under my shirt, rough and possessive, palming my breasts as he backed me against the weathered wood. I moaned softly into his mouth, arching into him, my fingers digging into his shoulders.
The kiss turned filthy fast, our tongues sliding, teeth nipping, and his hips grinding against mine so I could feel how hard he already was.
“Fuck, I can’t get enough of you,” he growled against my neck, sucking hard enough to leave another mark. One of his hands slipped down the front of my shorts, fingers finding me soaked. “This pussy is always ready for me, isn’t it?”
I whimpered and rocked against his hand, losing myself in him, when I heard footsteps on the gravel. Then my dad’s voice cut through the night like a gunshot.
“What the fuck is this?”
I stared at my father, who stood frozen, his eyes wide with shock that quickly turned into pure rage. My aunt and uncle were right behind him, their shock just as tangible.
They’d seen everything, and the silence afterward lasted a moment before all hell broke loose.
My dad lost it completely. He called Bastian every name in the book, ones that had me flinching, others that made anger rise inside me as my protective instincts kicked in for the man I loved.
The old stories came flying out about Bastian, fistfights, arrests, and the way he’d disappear for years abandoning his family. Bastian took every word, standing in front of me like a shield, then quietly said it was all his fault and that he’d leave tonight.
He turned and walked away. I stood, shocked, dumbfounded that our family could treat Bastian that way.
So I followed him.
My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might crack my ribs as I ran after him, gravel crunching under my feet. I didn’t care who saw me or what anyone thought anymore. All I knew was that if he left like this, if he walked away thinking he was protecting me, I might never get him back.
When I burst through the door of his place, he was already in the bedroom, throwing clothes into an old duffle bag with sharp, angry movements. His shoulders were rigid, and the muscles ticked in his cheek. He didn’t even look up when I stepped inside, breathing hard.
“Bastian, stop.”
He kept packing like he hadn’t heard me. I crossed the room in three strides and grabbed his arm, forcing him to turn toward me. His eyes were red-rimmed, haunted, and the sight of him like that broke something open inside my chest.
“You’ve been the person I’ve loved most of my life,” I said, my voice shaking but certain.
“Long before I even understood what that feeling was. When I was little and the house felt like it was falling apart, you were the only one who made me feel safe. Every summer, I waited for you. Every time you left, it hurt, but I still waited. It was always you, Bastian. First, you were my guardian and my confidant. Then you became so much more. It’s always been you. ”
Tears spilled down my cheeks, but I didn’t wipe them away. I needed him to see what he meant to me.
“I don’t care what they say. I don’t care how wrong they think this is. I love you. I’m in love with you. And if you walk out that door right now, you’re not protecting me. You’re just breaking me.”
He stared at me, chest rising and falling fast, like my words had physically hit him. For a moment, I thought he might still try to push me away. Then something in him shattered completely.
“I love you, Juliet. I’m so goddamn in love with you it terrifies me.”
We crashed together like the world was ending. There was nothing left. No restraint. No shame. No holding back.
He kissed me like a man possessed, ripping our clothes off before shoving me onto the bed.
We collapsed together, sweaty and shaking, and he pulled me into his arms, holding me like I was the only thing keeping him grounded.
“I love you,” he murmured against my hair, his voice hoarse and raw. “I love you so much it fucking hurts.”
For the first time, there was no guilt in the words. Only truth.
But we both knew the storm outside was just beginning.