Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 47597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 238(@200wpm)___ 190(@250wpm)___ 159(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 238(@200wpm)___ 190(@250wpm)___ 159(@300wpm)
"Yeah." I sigh softly. "Teo is the one who pulled her from the car. He wouldn't leave her side in the hospital until she started coming around. He blamed himself, and I guess he figured she wouldn't want to see him. But when Nadia woke up without him, she broke all over again. She didn't want to hear anything anyone said about him. We couldn't even say his name to her. She was convinced that he never felt the same way about her." I pause, gathering my thoughts. "That accident changed their lives in a lot of ways. We lost part of both of them that night. Teo started getting into fights. Nadia ended up in rehab twice, trying to deal with PTSD. It was…terrifying."
He listens quietly, letting me spill it all.
"I guess what they went through didn't just scar them. It scarred us all in some way."
"How did it scar you, princess?" he asks, searching my gaze.
I shrug helplessly. If I tell him the truth—that I don't do love—he'll know that Connor and I aren't real. But if I don't tell him, isn't that just as bad as maintaining the lie?
"I decided that wouldn't ever be me," I say carefully. "I never want to need someone so badly that not having them destroys me. I can't do that."
His expression softens before he dips his head, brushing his lips across mine. "If you're trying to warn me off, I'm not going anywhere, princess."
Isn't that the problem? He isn't going anywhere, but I am. In ten days, I have to go back to Tennessee. All of this ends. And I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to be okay with that if I keep falling for him. I already feel like I need him too much, and that's dangerous. If I keep tripping down this path, it won't lead anywhere good. For either of us.
Maybe I shouldn't have come out here tonight.
"I should go," I murmur, disentangling myself from his arms.
He hops up gracefully, pulling me to my feet. For a long moment, he doesn't say anything. He just puts me back together, making sure my clothes are adjusted, and my hair is smoothed down. And then he tips my head back again, meeting my gaze.
"I'm not going to stop or back off, Zoya. I know you want this as much as I do. I see it in your eyes. You don't look at Connor the way you look at me. You want this. You're just too scared to let yourself have it."
"Jareth, I…"
He presses his forehead to mine. "If you don't want me finding my way into your bed, you better keep your door locked, because a motherfucker has had about enough of sleeping down the hall from you."
"Connor," I say, swallowing hard. Not because I'm worried about hurting Connor, but because having sex with him right down the hall seems…wrong. I brought him here to help me out. We're lying to everyone because of me. I can't just pretend that away.
God. I've made such a mess of everything!
"Fuck Connor," Jareth growls, kissing me hard on the mouth. "You don't belong to him."
He's right, I don't. But…
"That doesn't make this right," I murmur. It's the truth, even if not for the reasons he thinks.
"We'll see about that, princess. I already told you that I'm not going to give up. I meant it."
"Jareth!" I growl. "You aren't listening."
"No, you aren't listening," he says, yanking me closer to kiss me again before I even have a chance of trying to explain what I mean. "You're mine, Zoya. Fuck Connor. Fuck everything. I'm not stopping until you realize that what happened with your sister and Teo won't ever happen with us."
I groan in frustration, slipping from his arms. "You're so annoying."
"Yeah, and you fucking love it."
He isn't wrong, dammit. But I don't say that. I just shake my head and then turn and hurry down the path to the house. When I reach the porch, I glance over my shoulder, but he isn't following me.
I sneak inside like I'm breaking curfew, trying to keep from waking Connor. But he's already standing at the top of the stairs with a shit-eating grin on his face.
"Girl, you are so fucked," he says, laughing quietly.
"I know!" I cry, burying my face in my hands.
He chuckles again, and then I hear his footsteps retreating down the hall. I reluctantly haul myself upstairs, expecting to find him waiting in my room for all the juicy details, but surprisingly, he isn't.
I hesitate with my hand on the knob before quickly flipping the lock to keep Jareth out. I doubt it'll really do me much good if he really wants in, but at least it sends a message.
I'm just not entirely sure what that message is. Ten minutes ago, I intended to tell him the truth about Connor. And now, what? I'm running again?