My face heated while the rest of me had gone cold, and suddenly, I couldn’t fight anymore.
I made the effort to take one last look, hoping to find the boy I fell in love with a lifetime ago.
I froze.
When my eyes finally locked with his, it wasn’t rage I found in his expressive depths. Tears streamed down his face, and all I could see was hurt, panic, and lost love just before it all faded away.
*
SEVEN YEARS AGO
“Are you cold?”
“A little.”
Keenan shrugged off the hoodie I often saw him wear and wrapped it around my shoulders.
“How’s that?”
“Better.” To be honest, I was still a little cold but I appreciated the effort. We were having a late night, forbidden picnic in the park. I wanted to look my best for our first date so I foolishly chose the thinnest and shortest dress I could find in my wardrobe. I had only just turned fifteen, so I didn’t have many that my mom deemed appropriate for a girl my age.
“Liar.”
He grinned just as his arms came around. I didn’t expect it or for him to settle me on his lap and wrap them tighter around me. My body instantly warmed from the feeling of his. It was equal parts flustering and body heat.
“How about this?” he whispered against my neck.
“I definitely feel warm now.”
“Good. I wouldn’t want my girl getting sick.”
“Your—your girl?” I stammered.
“I told you I’d make you mine.”
Keenan hadn’t wasted any time asking me out. It had only been two days since he first spoke to me in the hall. He said he had a few hoops to jump through first, a.k.a. my brother. Yesterday they’d gotten into a pretty bad fistfight. Dash wouldn’t agree to let him take me out and apparently, the confrontation escalated. What I didn’t understand was how they could possibly still be friends.
Keenan currently sported a black eye and several bruises that disappeared inside his shirt. Dash hadn’t fared any better from the fight.
In the end, Keenan made the decision that he would take me out on a date, and Dash couldn’t stop him.
“I won’t be yours for long if I don’t get back home soon. My parents will kill me if they find out I snuck out.”
We’d actually gone on our date earlier to the movies but a few hours after returning me home, I’d heard the first tap on my window. When I asked what he was doing at my window so late, he had charmingly declared that he couldn’t wait to see me again. I had melted right there against the windowsill and didn’t care who might see.
“If my queen wishes… but first things first…”
“What’s that?” I could literally feel my heart race with excitement at the look in his eyes. It was a look I was quickly becoming accustomed to seeing. Sometimes, he would just stare at me as if unwilling to let me go so he kept me captive with his eyes.
“Have you ever kissed anyone?”
Should I lie or tell the truth? Would he think I was a loser if I told him the truth? Would he think I was a slut if I didn’t?”
“If you’re thinking about lying to me, I would love it if you didn’t. Whatever your answer is, I will still want you.”
For the second time tonight, I melted. I realized that with Keenan, it was a constant state of being. “No, I haven’t ever.”
The wide, boyish smile that graced his lips put me at ease. His hand boldly slid up my front. My dress bunched slightly. All the while, I anticipated the moment he would touch my… ribs?
His hand stopped there to pull me closer before skipping over my breasts entirely and gripping my neck. “Can I be your first?”
I barely finished nodding before his lips brushed mine in the softest caress. It was a feeling I would never forget and one I’d hope to never lose.
*
PRESENT
They say true love’s kiss is the most powerful sign of love in the world. It’s the moment when you find the person to who you are meant to trust the rest of your life.
Nothing was ever said of life ending on a balcony because of true love.
While I had lived, true love died.
“You tried to kill me,” I shuddered. I’d come to on his bed. He sat on the edge, watching me.
“You lied to me even when the lie meant our daughter. I should have killed you.”
“Eric doesn’t know about Ken. He’s never even met her.”
“How noble of you, but that doesn’t change things. While I couldn’t kill you, I promised you’d be sorry for lying to me. It was a promise I was prepared to fulfill because I know you, Shelly. That means I know when you’re lying.”
“What are you going to do?”
“What I should have done four years ago when you told me no. I’m taking you prisoner. Take a look around, my love. This is your cage.” He magically produced a set of handcuffs. “Are you going to make me use these? You could consider them your wedding ring. “
“Keenan, this—”
“Beg.”
“What?”
“If you want to be set free, the only thing I care to hear from your lips is the sound of you begging. I’m not interested in anything else.”
“Please.”