Like a fool, I eased lower, let my fingers toy with the necklace around her throat as the flames lapped and leapt and consumed. The demand was out before I could stop myself. “My rules, Aster.”
She stalled for a moment before she offered me a wary nod. “Okay.”
SEVEN
ASTER
“My rules, Aster.”
My chest was tight as the powerful engine roared down Main Street as what I’d agreed to ran through my mind on a circuit.
“My rules.”
Every cell on my body was edged in agitation.
What had I done?
What had I agreed to?
Could I really pull this off?
And at what cost?
Because if I couldn’t convince my father...
It was an endless cycle of dread and hope.
Dread and hope.
I glanced at the ferocity that vibrated Logan’s profile.
Hope.
It was such a reckless, heedless emotion. One I’d long since given up fighting for, succumbing to the reality of what my life would be.
But there it was, blooming like a poppy.
Quickly.
Rising up through rocky soil to become something beautiful.
The thought itself was something I should fear. It wasn’t like Logan was sweeping in to rescue me, not that I wanted a hero. But I guessed I’d always wanted a partner.
A friend.
A lover.
A home.
And that’s exactly where we were headed—Logan’s home,when it could never be home at all.
Knowing he hated me, and I hated what he’d done, the choice he’d forced me to make. I hated that every plan and promise we’d made to each other had been squashed.
I needed to remember nothing remained but tragedy and debris.
My desire for freedom and Logan’s thirst for revenge.
I peeked his way again, unable to stop myself. At the strength in his jaw. At the sharpness of his nose and the shrewdness of his eyes.