“Are you serious?”
“Yes, very,” I reply, ensuring Cayden’s gaze stays riveted to me.
Calvin hisses as I instantly feel the warmth from my back evaporate. “Nothing’s changed. Even with amnesia, you still fucking choose him.”
A rumble bubbles to the surface, and Cayden is seconds away from exploding. Unsure of what else to do, I do the only thing I can. “No, Calvin, you’re wrong. I choose me.” Without fears or reservations, I smash my lips to Cayden’s, mindful that he’s just been hit, but Cayden doesn’t do things in half.
He threads his fingers through my hair, angling my head as he dominates me with a strength that takes my breath away. With our guards lowered, we kiss like starved animals, taking and giving all in the same token.
We sample one another, our tongues tangoing in a dance orchestrated especially for us. He suckles my bottom lip before breaking our connection and slides down the length of my neck over to my chin. His kisses are hot and frantic, and I want it. I want so much more.
A whimper escapes me, an unrefined sound that we have passed the line of no return, but who am I kidding; we passed that threshold the moment we met. I draw his lips back to mine, kissing him with a passion so fierce that I’m almost certain every part of me is on fire.
I’m unsure when Calvin left. It could have been two minutes or two hours ago because when lost this way with Cayden, no one else exists but us.
Although this kiss is dripping with raw hunger, there is an underlayer of softness, of longing as well. If what Calvin says is true, then Cayden Coachman has been entrenched into my very core since the beginning of time. I suddenly break free.
There is another side to this reunion, and that’s anger. Acting on instinct, I slap his cheek. Hard. “That’s for lying to me.”
He rubs his cheek, accepting his punishment with a nod.
“I want the truth. All of it.”
He inhales before nodding once. “Okay.”
That was easier than I thought. But I know nothing about this will be easy. “I saw Hazel.” Cayden closes his eyes briefly, clearly disturbed by my revelation. However, what I say next has him understanding this is just the start of things to come. “What did…what did I do to Ellie?”
He wrestles with what to say next, but the pretenses are over. He extends his hand, an invitation that offers me the strength I need. “Come with me, and I’ll tell you everything. Are you ready?”
This is the moment I’ve been waiting for, for the past six months. Releasing whatever fear I have left to the wind, I slip my palm into his, never feeling more liberated than I do right now. “I’m ready.”