Burn (Virtues & Lies 1)

Nodding with a sigh, he pauses for a moment before his arms wrap around me tightly and he presses a soft kiss to my lips.

“I’m sorry if I hurt you.” He whispers into my mouth.

“Pfft, it was always going to hurt, and I liked it, so…”

“I’m glad it was satisfactory.”

“Everyone is always so gentle with me. They handle me with kid gloves all the time and I don’t understand why.”

One of his arms loosens and then he’s cupping my cheek. Leo can be so tender with me, but even in the soft touches there’s always some intense pull.

“Why don’t you treat me like they do?”

“Because I don’t believe you’re half as fragile as you seem.”

“I’m not, and I wish people saw that.”

Smiling at me with pride, his thumb caresses my cheek.

“Cass, do you remember what your dad said about the best way to get to a person?”

I nod and he presses a kiss to the tip of my nose.

“I don’t have many people I care about apart from Kit, my mother and my nan.”

My chest tightens and my heart winces that he hasn’t mentioned me, because I care about him. I care about him so much.

“They were the only people my father knew of to get to me. Your father had someone watching my mother and my grandmother, but Kit didn’t want someone tracing his footsteps. He’s really private about his life, as progressive as the world we live in is, the circles we’re a part of can be homophobic and our father was harsh enough…”

“Kit’s gay?”

“Well, your brother would never let him be so close to Arabella if he wasn’t. Christopher doesn’t do competition.”

“Christopher needs to get over himself sometimes.”

“Sometimes, but no guy wants another man sniffing around their girl.”

“It’s hardly sniffing if they’re friends. Girls and guys can be friends. You know?” Looking up at him, my tummy rolls with the quirked brow look he’s giving me. “Anyway, I want to know more about Kit.”

I like getting to know more about him and his family, even if some of it is really hard to stomach.

I still can’t get my head around his father’s actions. All my life my parents have done everything to protect me. It seems absurd that his father could hurt his own children in the ways he has. And if he can hurt his children without any second thought, I don’t want to fathom what else he is capable of doing.

It doesn’t bear thinking about.

“Will you tell me more?” Stroking my fingers lightly down his silky scars, I know that I’m always going to see them as missing wings, because the more I know of Leo, the more I see him as my very own angel. My very own brand of salvation. Maybe he’s not your usual saviour, but with him, I’d feel safe walking through Hell.

“I miss him. We all do, Mum, Julian, Nan, Arabella. I’ve never seen my grandad so devastated.”

“Who’s Julian?” I’m not an idiot, I think I can surmise who it is. But I like hearing him talk so freely and wistfully. It’s a completely different side to him that I’m finding impossible not to fall in love with too.

“His boyfriend, I suppose.”

“You suppose?”

“They’re together, but they’re not official because…” He shrugs and I understand what he’s saying. Kit and Julian are a secret couple.

“Tell me more.”