For as short of time as he was here, I’ll always be grateful for him.

Shoulders slumped, Oakley scrubs a hand down his face. “I want to meet her. So fucking bad, but—”

“But nothing.” I wrap my arms around him. “Fuck Crystal—and no, I do not mean that in the literal sense because I’ll saw your dick off—but you have to stop blaming yourself for what happened in the past because you can’t change it.” I drop my forehead to his. “Focus on repairing your relationship with your dad and building one with your sister, because they love you and they’re your family. And at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.”

He hugs me so tight it hurts. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“Being you.” His blue orbs take on a sincere glint as he cups my cheek. “You might just be the best thing that ever happened to me.”

I start to tell him the same, but then my phone rings.

Huffing, I bring it to my ear. “Hey, Jace.”

I hear the hustle and bustle of people in the background. “I’m leaving the airport now and should be at the house in twenty. Where are you?”

Late last night I told Jace that Oakley scooped me up on his dad’s motorcycle and brought me to shelter. He was so relieved we were safe he didn’t give either of us the third degree and I’m pretty sure he’s going to worship the ground Oakley walks on for the next month or so.

However, being the overprotective brother he is, he decided to cut his trip short to come home and make sure I’m okay.

“We’re leaving soon,” I tell him.

“Good. Do you guys want me to stop and pick up breakfast? Ask Oak if he needs anything.”

I cup the phone. “Jace wants to know if you need anything?”

Oakley waggles his eyebrows seductively and mouths, ‘I need to fuck you again.’

A rush of heat flows through me.

“Nope, Oakley’s good,” I tell Jace in a hurry as Oakley proceeds to kiss down my neck. “However, there’s still a lot of traffic on the road so we might be a little while.”

I quickly disconnect the call so I can give Oakley exactly what we both need.

Chapter 50

Bianca

My chest feels like it’s going to cave in.

Everything was so perfect between us—so right—and I have no idea how or why we went wrong.

“We were happy,” I whisper, looking out to the ocean.

I now realize that Oakley took me to the same place where I lost my virginity to him.

The violent waves slapping against the rocks and the turbulent gray sky above tells me there’s a storm brewing.

It matches the one going on inside my heart.

Oakley—who was walking along the shoreline—freezes.

“Yeah,” he says after a minute passes. Blue eyes pin me with a look so severe my stomach knots. “We were.”

Not knowing what went down is killing me.

“What happened between us?”

His jaw clenches and I can see the knot of tension rolling through his shoulders. “You said you wouldn’t ask me, remember?”

My back teeth meet with a frustrated clack. “I know, but after today I’m starting to realize just how bad secrets are.”

How they have the ability to tear people apart.

Turning to look at the ocean again, he snorts under his breath. “That’s awfully hypocritical of you, don’t you think?”

I blink, not understanding. “What’s that supposed to m—”

“You’re still wearing his ring.” His voice is a harsh rumble of smoke and ashes. “And I’m still your dirty little secret.”

There are daggers in his eyes when he glares at me.

However, he’s not the only one who can dish out reality checks.

“Because that’s all you seem to want to be,” I toss back.

It’s his turn to appear confused. “What the fuck does that mean?”

Feeling stupid, I give my head a shake. “Nothing. Forget it.”

It’s obvious he’s not interested in repairing whatever happened between us in the past, because he refuses to tell me anything that might enable us to do that.

As usual, I never know if I’m coming or going with him.

I fucking hate it.

Oakley’s lips press together in a hard line, and before I can inhale my next breath, he’s stalking toward me like a lion who’s found his prey.

“You want me to fight for you?”

His words surprise me, and I take a cautious step back.

That only makes him advance forward.

My spine meets the gigantic boulder behind me. “No.”

The dark look he gives me makes it clear he thinks I’m full of shit.

Placing his arms on either side of my head, he cages me in with his big body. “Why?”

An impulsive—almost dangerous—current runs between us, buzzing through my skin.

I force myself to stay silent.

Because my answer will change everything between us.

Oakley leans in. The heady, addicting scent of him fills my nostrils and it takes everything in me to stay still.

“Say it.”

I can’t. I shouldn’t.

His heated stare lowers to my lips. The muscles along his arms clench as he inclines his head, his mouth a mere centimeter from mine. “Say. It.”

His deep voice is a forceful dagger slicing through the tension.

I should be trying to sever this connection between us…but I can’t.

It’s too strong. Too powerful.

Like trying to fight against gravity.

Defeat rushes through me. “Because you’ll win.”

The sky crackles and thunder booms above us the moment his mouth crashes against mine.

His kiss is laced with pure greed and possession, every brush of his tongue a fierce punishment immediately met by an intoxicating reward that sends all my senses spiraling.

My fingers curl into the fabric of his gray tank top. “Oakley.”

His name is both a warning and a plea.

A fight between heaven and hell.

Right and wrong.

Groaning, he cups the back of my neck, keeping me right where he wants me as he deepens the kiss.

A strangled sound leaves me when his hand slithers down the length of my body, his slow, torturous touch lighting every single nerve ending of mine on fire.

“Lie to yourself all you want, baby girl. But you can’t fucking lie to me.” His mouth finds my neck. “Because I fucking know you.”

I hiss when his teeth scrape against my pulse point and he grips my hips like he owns me. “I know the way you like to be touched.”

Proving his point, he sucks my flesh hard enough to leave his mark.

My knees start to buckle when his hands slide underneath my dress. “The needy, wild sounds you make when you’re about to come.” He runs the pad of his thumb along the crotch of my damp panties. “The way you taste.”

Oh, God. I should put an end to this, but I can’t.

I crave him too much.

Blue eyes hold me captive. “I know he doesn’t satisfy you, Bianca.”

Before I can stop him, he snatches my engagement ring and places it on the tip of his middle finger.