Tough Shit (Rejects Paradise 1)

As we dance, Nic’s warning comes back to haunt me. He said I was going to get hurt and I think he might have been right. Colton Carrington has all the power here. I’m putty in his hands yet for some reason, I’m allowing it to continue.

Colton’s hand travels up my spine and pulls me in tighter so that my face hovers just by his. If I didn’t have these heels, I’d be squished into his chest, which really isn’t a problem for me, but this just adds to the perfection of my night.

“You’re so fucking beautiful, Jade,” he murmurs so low that I wonder if I heard him correctly.

My heart races as I pull back and look up into his deep, hazel eyes. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them quite so dark before. I’m completely captivated by him. Every tiny little move he makes is written on my soul and it scares me like never before.

I can’t be feeling like this when it comes to Colton Carrington. I should be wanting to tear him apart for making a comment like that. Why is he making this so much harder?

I tilt my chin, needing to see him properly. “Don’t do this,” I beg.

His brows furrow as his eyes pierce right through to my soul. “Do what?”

“Make it so damn hard to hate you.”

“Maybe I don’t want you to hate me, not anymore.”

Those fucking beautiful words. I don’t think he understands the power they hold because if he did, there’s no way in hell he’d be uttering them to me. Surely this is some kind of game and just when I think everything is falling into place, he’s going to pull the rug from under my feet. So, why does it feel so damn real?

“I don’t think you know what you want,” I whisper, watching the way his gaze focuses heavily on mine.

“You might be right about that,” he says as his hand slides down my back, trailing over my spine and making goosebumps rise over my skin. “But I know what I want right now.”

Oh, holy hell. This isn’t good.

He moves into me and everything goes weak. All that exists at this moment is him.

Why do I need this so bad?

Colton gets closer and closer and his intentions become startlingly clear. He’s going to kiss me and I’m going to love it, need it, crave it but most of all, it’s going to end me. I don’t know if I have the strength to keep hating him after this. Our first few kisses were different. They were hungry and spoke from a part of us that we couldn’t control, but this … this is so much more. This isn’t just our bodies speaking, this is our hearts and that’s where it gets dangerous … complicated.

His arms tighten around my body and I’m a fucking goner. I know I should tell him no. I know I should try to stop this, but I can’t. I need his kiss more than I need my next breath. Come tomorrow, I can curse myself and go over all the reasons why this was such a horrible mistake, but for now, I have no choice but to make the mistake and make it damn good.

His face comes right in front of mine and he stops, waiting for me to close the last inch between us.

This is it. My final chance at escape, my very last shot at saving myself the heartache that is bound to come after this, because there’s no doubt in my mind that he’s going to break me, but what’s more, I’m going to let him.

Putting my heart and sanity on the line, I raise my chin, closing the gap, and finally feel his soft lips press against mine.

My knees go weak and if he wasn’t holding me up, I’m sure I’d be some kind of puddle at his feet. My brain screams at me, telling me how wrong it is but as his lips start moving against mine, every last thought turns to mush.

He holds me tight while at the same time, his touch is feather soft. It’s as though I’m precious to him, something worth valuing. I know Nic loves me in his own distorted, over-protective way, but he’s never held me like this. Colton and I don’t have a history or even a proper relationship between us and already the connection I feel between us right now is stronger than anything I’ve ever had with Nic.

He makes my heart race, my palms sweat, my breath catch in my throat. He’s somehow everything to me while also being absolutely nothing at all. It’s the most confusing and infuriating thing I’ve ever felt. Every moment of every day, I need to know where he is, I want to be in the same room as him, while desperately needing to get away.