Total pages in book: 260
Estimated words: 245483 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1227(@200wpm)___ 982(@250wpm)___ 818(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 245483 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1227(@200wpm)___ 982(@250wpm)___ 818(@300wpm)
She shakes her head, pulling back. The blaze in her eyes becomes less heated.
“You had too much, it was too heavy and I couldn’t hold any more, Cill. We got into that fight–”
“It was one fight—” I argue back. I remember it well. I raised my voice at her. I vented. I took my anger out on her. I know I did. I apologized a hundred times, but I know I lost her that day. How could I have possibly kept her? I was fucking locked in a cage. I couldn’t make it right.
“It wasn’t just a fight. It was me realizing I couldn’t help you anymore.”
“So we got in one fight and you–”
“You’re not listening,” she says, cutting me off, her anger blistering between us. This … this is what I know. The woman here I know how to handle.
“I needed you. I couldn’t have you.”
“So you went to Reed?”
“He came to me … and I couldn’t say no, because I needed someone to love me. I’m sorry”
“I never stopped loving you.”
“It wasn’t your fault. I’m not saying that.” She’s on edge, barely containing herself. “I’m sorry.” She’s at war with her anger and I’ve been here before with this woman. Only then she didn’t hold back, she let me have it. Which is exactly what I deserved.
“Kat, I never stopped loving you.”
“I love you, Cill. I’ve always loved you. I was just so lost and upset. And so damn alone.”
“Come here.”
I pull her into my lap and kiss her. I can taste her tears on her lips, but as soon as her mouth is on mine she’s fully my hellcat again. I taste her like I haven’t had the chance for four years. I kiss her like we might not have another chance when we walk out of here. Kat pulls back and I let out a sigh. It feels like I’ve been holding it in for my entire life.
“What was that?” she questions.
“My hellcat just came back to me.” I put my hands on the small of her back and hold her closer. “Hit me.”
“What?”
“Hit me, Kat.” She puts her hands on my shoulders instead. “Curse me out. Do whatever you need to, but don’t you dare leave me.”
She laughs and wipes away her tears. “Where would I go, Cill?”
“Anywhere you wanted.”
“It wouldn’t matter,” she tells me. “You’re in my head, and in my heart. You’d still be with me. Except I wouldn’t have you to talk to, and that would be hell. I know it would be, because it was hell when you went away.”
“It was hell for both of us.”
“You were fucking stupid to take the fall and say it was yours.” There she is. That’s my hellcat. I’m so damn relieved she’s back. She would call me out back then, and I want her to do it now. “Possession and distribution. You should have kept your mouth shut and not said it was yours.”
“I know. I was stupid. I thought I was doing a good thing. It didn’t take long to realize I had fucked up.”
“I hated you for it, Cill,” Kat admits. She knows I can take it. That’s what I wanted from her all along. I don’t want her to treat me like I’m made of glass. “I hated that you did it and I watched you wither away.” Her eyes shine with tears again. “I still loved you, even when I hated you.”
“Well, I’m back, and I’m not going anywhere. I love you, Hellcat.”
“I love you too.”
She leans in and gives me a sweet, soft kiss. It reminds me of the way we used to kiss when we were teenagers and still figuring out how to do it right. Kat’s always done it right. She can be a hellion, but she always kissed like we were in love.
I guess we were.
I know we still are.
Kat looks into my eyes, and I get lost in the moment. It’s too damn much for the dinner table but I don’t care. The only way I was going to walk out of here is if I solved something. Now we’ve solved it. And if there’s still bullshit with Cavanaugh to be dealt with, at least we have an understanding of one another.
Her eyes go wide. “Oh no. Reed—”
We both turn to where Reed was sitting and find the chair empty.
Kat
I’m exhausted when we get back to my house and the heartache is too much to deal with. The night has been far too long. “I just want to lie down,” I tell Cill as I lock up behind us.
The keys hit the table and then I check my phone again. No reply from Reed. He left without a word, but Cill’s car and keys were waiting for us in his place.
“On the couch, or in bed?”