34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

ANNIE

The stupor of that kiss wore off as Jet ran up. This was it. Hiding wasn’t an option. He’d caught me, and now, I had to face it.

I hope he liked getting a taste of his own medicine.

“Annie…thank God…I caught you,” Jet panted as he reached me, ignoring the kiss I knew he must have seen. He rested his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath while I glared. “I have to explain.” He tried to take my hand, but I yanked it away, hating the way his face fell. I didn’t want his explanation. I’d seen the evidence and read the proof.

“It wasn’t…what it looked like.”

Anger pulsed through me with the cliche. “Like that isn’t the oldest line in the damn book.” I whipped around to leave, disgusted, and tossed over my shoulder, “Go back to your whore, Jet. I’m sure she’s missing the feel of your arms around her. Not to mention your tongue down her throat.” I shoved back the pain, letting the anger take over as I walked away. I wouldn’t let him see how he’d hurt me.

JET

Desperate as Annie almost walked away from me again, I lunged to reach her and spun her back around. Shock brushed her features with her irritation, and when Nic stepped towards us, I sent him a look from hell, daring him to interfere. “Sweetheart, I’m not lying to you. Just let me explain.”

Tears were falling from those gorgeous eyes that were so filled with hurt because of me . My heart ached, knowing I’d caused her pain. I had to set it right. She had to know how I felt about her. How can she not know?

Annie shook her head, already trying to back away again. “I don’t see how you can explain it. I know you’ve been with her.”

My brow furrowed, trying to match that to the kiss. “What are you talking about?”

“I know you’ve slept with her!”

What the hell? “Absolutely fucking not. Where the hell did that come from?”

“Don’t fucking lie to me, Jet! I know it happened.”

“How can you know something happened when it didn’t?!” Fear curled slowly into my belly worse than before. I couldn’t reason with her if she wasn’t making sense.

“I found a letter she wrote to you in your bag.” She placed her hands on her hips, breathing I knew to control her tears. “It was tucked in that fucking book she stuck in there.” She scowled at me, disgusted.

“Then what did it say, sweetheart, cuz I’m lost here.”

“It said everything!”

“Which is what?” I pressed, reaching out to hold her arms when she tried to turn away. “Stop trying to walk off so we can work this out.”

She threw her head back with a scoff. “Like there’s any working shit out after cheating .”

“I wasn’t cheating , Annie. That kiss–”

“Fuck that damn kiss, Jet. It’s nothing compared to knowing you slept with her.”

“But I didn’t . Sweetheart, please .”

Doubt flickered for a moment in her expression before she shook it away. “Lie all you want, but that letter said it all. How she’ll never forget the way you made her feel when you were together. How possessive you were. The way you demanded things from her body. That kiss was just the fucking proof.”

I shook my head. “That can’t be right. Where is it? Let me see.”

Nic held it out, and I snatched it from my fucking cousin’s grip and held the letter up, trying to catch the moonlight. But the words were barely discernible. I was about to curse when I remembered the light on my keys, and I pulled them out, shining the white LED over the paper. My eyes skimmed the letter, pissed that this piece of paper, this string of lies was threatening everything important to me. A kiss I could have fought my way back from, but this? If Annie thought it was true ? I’d just thought I was pissed at Ruby before .

I shoved the letter and my keys into Nic’s chest when I was through and pulled Annie closer, ignoring the way she stiffened to make her meet my eyes. Needing her to see every sworn truth I was now baring to her. “It’s not true. None of it’s true. She made up every single thing. I swear. I don’t want Ruby. I’ve never done anything with Ruby.”

I watched the pain twist in her expression. The way she wanted to believe me. “Liar! I saw you kissing her! You know I saw you!”

“ She kissed me !”

“Another line from the books.” Annie rolled her eyes, and all I wanted to do was kiss away every falling tear. To take away her pain and make her trust me again.

“She did, sweetheart. I had just told her that I didn’t want her. I put my foot down with her, telling her I wouldn’t let her disrespect you, and she shoved me back against Corey’s truck.”

“And you’re how much stronger than her?” Annie nodded. “Yep. Makes sense that you couldn’t just push her away.”

“Fuck. I smacked my head against the window, Annie. Stars were cracking across my eyes at first, and by the time they cleared, you had walked up. I pushed her away as soon as I could.”

She gasped for breath with a fresh burst of tears and beat a fist against my chest.

“Stop it! I saw it!”

Good, God, why won’t she believe me? I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her close, needing to comfort her and make her see, but she yanked away, and her shoulders began to shake with her hard sobs .

“Maybe you should give her some space,” Nic suggested, and I shot him the harshest glare I could manage.

“Is that what you did with your woman? Did you just give her some space when you were about to lose her? Why do you suddenly care so much what happens with us? Why are you even still here? Just go.” I scowled in disgust. “We can deal with our shit later.”

The look on his face said he got the warning, and Nic nodded, turning away. My attention went immediately back to Annie.

“Sweetheart, please . Do you need me to get down on my knees to beg? Because I will. I will grovel the very ground you walk on if you’ll just believe me.”

But her thoughts were distant, not even taking me in.

“Just fucking broken promises,” she muttered, starting to pull off her ring.

My eyes widened in horror, and I clasped a hand over hers to stop her. “Don’t you dare take off that ring.” The words growled from deep in my chest. “I’ve never broken this promise. I’ve never lied or cheated. I don’t want Ruby. I don’t want any woman but you .”

Before she had a chance to argue, I pulled her against a pole under the pier and leaned over her, surrounding her body with mine so that she couldn’t leave. I fought her to look at me, knowing that was crucial.

Annie stopped struggling when she finally met my eyes, and I could see the longing she had to believe me in those emerald depths, but it was blocked by the wall of hurt and betrayal she couldn’t break through. I had to reach her, and I’d break through that wall with every perfect fucking combination of words from the English dictionary if I had to make her see the truth. I would never give up on us.

I placed my hand on her chest over the diamond hearts I’d given her on our last anniversary. “I picked this necklace and your ring because these hearts are just like ours. They’re intertwined and permanently connected. You can’t have one without the other. Just like us. We’re endgame. Perfectly fucking matched. I’m not me without you.”

Feeling her start to sink into me, I wrapped my arms around her, tucking my head by her ear to tell her, “It’s you. It’s always you. Past, present, and future. I never have, and I never will want anyone but you .”

I dragged my nose up her jaw and along her cheek before resting my forehead against hers, and I felt the second the resolve left her body. She was giving in, choosing to trust me again, and relief swallowed me as I kissed her. She melted into it, her hands coming up to grip my neck, pulling me down like she couldn’t get me close enough.

I just wanted her in my arms, forever if I could, so I could drive every bit of doubt she had of my devotion from her mind. I’d never forget how I could’ve lost her tonight, and I’d do everything in my power to make sure it never happened again.