Collide (Collide, #1)(111)

“Stop!” she blurted out, shoving her hand viciously against his chest. It worked because she finally released herself from his hold. Stepping onto the curb, hot angry tears rolled down her cheeks as she flared her arms in the air in an attempt to hail over a taxi. With curtains of rain falling from the sky, her efforts went unnoticed as drivers sped past, drenching her body further.

Approaching her, Gavin felt lightheaded, hollow, and empty. He took her firmly by the elbow and spun her around. Their eyes, both equally dripping with hurt, bore into one another’s. Bringing his arms up again, he cupped her cheeks and lowered his forehead against hers.

“You have to believe me,” he whispered harshly, his voice laden with pain. “She passed out on my couch. I slept in my f*cking room, and nothing—nothing at all—happened.” Now sobbing uncontrollably, Emily tried to back away, but Gavin moved his hands to the back of her neck and held her in place, his forehead still pressing against hers. “I told you that I’d never hurt you, and I meant it. I meant every f*cking word. Please don’t do this to us…please. I’m not lying to you. I’m not him. I’m not Dillon.”

Feeling trapped in the darkness of his gaze, Emily’s heart paused as she watched tiny droplets of water trickle down his face—down to those perfect lips that had worshipped every inch of her body. Those perfect lips that had also worshipped another woman’s body after she’d left. Now her tears came in a torrent as the thought of what he had done hit her with brutal force.

Shaking her head, she took several steps back, her eyes glacial. Turning around, she raised her hand to hail a taxi again, and to her surprise, one pulled right over. She reached for the handle and swung the door open. Gavin’s hand quickly slammed against it, effectively keeping it shut.

“Let me get in, Gavin!”

“No. I’m not letting you go,” he said, his voice booming. “You don’t believe me?”

“I’m not kidding! Let me in!” she commanded again, the viciousness of her tone startling them both.

Running his free hand through his soaked hair, Gavin gritted his teeth. “You’ll believe the f*cking lies he tells you on a daily basis, but you can’t believe me?”

“Oh, now you’re really reaching,” she scoffed, trying to remove his hand from the door. “He’s not the one who’s lied to me!”

“Goddamn it, Emily!” he snapped. Abruptly, he caught her by the waist and hauled her up tight against his chest. She sucked in an indignant breath as she stared into his eyes. “Don’t mistake my pleading with you as a weakness; I’m no *. I told you I’m not lying, but if you think for one f*cking minute, he hasn’t—or that he’s not—then there’s seriously something wrong with you.”

“Hey,” the now impatient driver called out. “Is she getting in or not?”

“Yes.”

“No.”

They both quickly yelled in unison.

Gavin’s angry eyes snapped to the driver. “She’s not getting in. Leave. Now.”

With a pissy look in his eyes, the man shook his head and sped off.

“I can’t believe you,” Emily cried out, tears streaming down her face. Each one of her tears crashed around Gavin’s heart. She lifted her hands and pushed against his chest, but he secured her with his steely arm around her waist. “Why are you doing this to me, Gavin?”

“Because I f*cking love you, and I’m not lying,” he answered, his breathing ragged and harsh. “Tell me right here and now that you don’t love me, and I’ll walk away. I’ll walk away, and you’ll never have to see me again.” With his free hand, he tilted her neck back. He dipped his head and started feathering his lips against her temple, down her cheek, and along the curve of her jaw. Emily couldn’t help it, but a light moan left her lips. “You’ll never have to feel me touch your body again, Emily. You’ll never have to hear my voice in your ears again. You’ll never have to wake up to me by your side again. Tell me right now that you don’t love me, and I’m gone…forever.”

Emily was shaking inside, but she wouldn’t show it. If she let anything slip through, she would break down, and that couldn’t happen. Though every fiber in her body wanted to believe him, she didn’t. This was a carefully thought-out skit that he was trying to manipulate her with. He was an actor on a stage, perfecting his skill, and Emily was his sole audience. Now it was her turn to send his heart straight into the crematory where hers now lie.

“I don’t love you,” she said, lying through her teeth. That lie was literally ripping her apart. Her eyes dripped with tears as she stared into his. “I told you I needed to get you out of my system, and I did. That’s all that night meant to me.”

Another lie.

However, there would be one truth that left her lips. “And I don’t believe a word that you’ve said.”

Gavin winced and held back stinging tears. Her parasitic words—each one of them—sucked the air straight out of his lungs. She took his heart, ground it up, and turned it into crimson paste right before his eyes. Struck nearly f*cking speechless, he took a step back and released her from his hold.

“Thank you for the permanent scar,” he whispered, his voice broken and defeated. Without another word, he shoved his hands in his pockets and walked over to his car.