Tragic Beauty (Beauty & The Darkness #1)(86)
I glance to Gavin, who sits quietly, his fingers still caressing my arm while I remain tucked up against him, warm and safe, a shelter from the recent past. His eyes are closed, those long lashes casting shadows along his skin. A dark stubble coats his jaw, while his messy, brown hair glints of amber and chocolate in the growing light. I can see the strain of these past couple weeks embedded into the rugged lines of his face. Even so, he’s still the most handsome man I’ve ever laid eyes on. I can’t help but think back to the first time I saw him. So angry. So beautiful. How fitting our worlds collided on a dark, stormy night.
A wayward thought enters my mind. It’s something I’ve never been able to figure out. I take the pen and write down my question on the notepad, then tap his shoulder and watch his eyes slowly open to the sky, now a vibrant swirl of pinks and baby blues. He looks down at the notepad.
How did you find me that first day?
“The registration in the car,” he says. “When you weren’t giving up any information on you, I got frustrated and texted Burt and had him write down the address. You’d said it was your neighbor’s car.” He smiles. “Hadn’t planned on using it. But as soon as you left my bed, I woke, and I knew right then I wasn’t going to be able to let you go.”
A bird chirps in the distance, then another, and another. The day is waking. My soul is healing.
Gavin presses his lips softly against my temple. “I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to let you go, Ava. I love you. I’ve loved you since I first saw you, stranded in the rain on the side of the freeway.” He sighs and leans his forehead against mine. “My tragic beauty.”
Tears surge and spill over, just as the sun breaks, sending a prism of bright light into my heart and deep into my soul, temporarily blinding the darkness within. He pulls back, pain seeping into his face while he gazes into my eyes.
So many different emotions go tearing through me, so much confusion over how I feel about Shayne, and everything that’s happened. But there is one thing I do know. Something I’ve known ever since that night too. And in many ways, it’s what’s kept me going, kept me from breaking and giving up.
I reach up and touch his cheek to let him know.
I love you, too.
Gavin sighs and closes his eyes, able to read me so well now. “It won’t be easy loving me, Ava,” he says, pulling back and meeting my gaze. “You may think I’m a hero, but I’m not. It’s something you need to remember. Right now, I’m being what I need to be, what you need me to be. But this isn’t my true nature. I don’t know how to love, how to be in love. All I know is how I feel, about you. It’s powerful…and terrifying.”
Gavin tightens his arm around me and leans in closer, a faint, almost chilling whisper drifting into my ear. “And God help anyone who ever tries to take you from me again.”