Forever You're Mine (MINE #4)(51)

Was she for real?

“You’re one of those crazy bitches with daddy issues huh? Is that why you make it your mission in life to f*ck with everybody else’s? Or maybe your mommy didn’t pay enough attention to you growing up. Is that it?”

Our faces only inches apart, it took every ounce of control I had not to claw her eyes out.

Hard to believe God made a woman this evil.

“My only issue is with you. You and Cannon are finished, or big brother stays exactly where he is.”

“You don’t have that kind of power.”

“Sweetheart, you should never underestimate me. I always make good on my threats.” She tapped her manicured finger on her flawless chin. “Wonder if lethal injection is painful at all?”

“God, you are so delusional. You were just a distraction, that’s it. He doesn’t want you. He’ll never love you the way that he loves me.”

Her dead laugh made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. “I don’t want to be loved, I want to be worshipped. It may take a little time and finesse, but if there is one thing I know about Cannon, it’s his insatiable need to bury pain. And once he loses you, he’ll be desperate to ease that ache. And guess who’ll be there?” She leaned in closer. “I’m going to enjoy licking his tears.”

With my fists balled up, I took a step back. This was insane. She was absolutely certifiable. “You’re f*ckin’ crazy.”

Shrugging, she took a step back. “You’re just now figuring this out. And for the record, I’m more than crazy Cora, I’m determined, which makes me a lot more dangerous.”

An hour later, the panic set in. What if she could sway the judge’s decision? Alexis was notorious for doing whatever necessary to get her way. And obviously she wasn’t below being downright nasty about it. I couldn’t let her interfere. Everything had been going so well. But how was I going to stop her if I didn’t give her what she wanted?

I was torn.

I didn’t know what to do. The only thing I did know with absolute certainty…I would do anything to save Winston’s life. Just like he’d saved mine. Even if it meant letting go of the man I loved.

Even if it meant breaking his heart, and my own.





No one saves us but ourselves.

No one can and no one may.

We ourselves must walk the path.

~Buddha





Seeing her again was like cutting open a fresh wound. One that hadn’t even begun to heal yet. One that likely never would.

Then seeing her today only confirmed what I knew all along. She wasn’t with Dent. She never had been. It was only an excuse to get rid of me. But why? She knew how much I loved her. She knew what she meant to me. I showed her in every way possible. I did everything I was supposed to do. Was she afraid of me? Afraid I would hurt her? Or was I just not good enough as I always suspected?

My mind continued to torture my heart as I drove home.

“Fuck!”

I seethed, slamming my fists against the wheel. How could I still love her this much? She broke my heart. She told me she loved another man, but that did nothing to relinquish her ownership of my soul.

My back tires fishtailed as I took the dirt road a little faster than I intended. Once I righted the truck, I punched the gas, stirring up dirt and gravel behind me.

I wanted to just keep driving. Never look back. I’d even thought about moving back home. But I knew better than anyone I could never outrun her memory, or the pain. I slammed on my breaks, skidding to a white knuckle stop. I hurt more now than I ever had before. I stared off into the distance, allowing myself to remember.

Remember a time when it didn’t hurt so damn much to breathe…

Our wet, naked bodies were a tangle of limbs beneath a blanket of stars. The moon was shining down in all its radiant glory, casting a shimmering glow on her perfect skin. We’d been out here for a while now, but we’d just managed to pull ourselves from the water.

I kissed her again, forgoing the air I’d just collected. I would give her my last breath if it meant keeping her forever.

“Let’s go back to the house. I’m dying to be inside you,” I told her, stealing another kiss.

“No…here,” she said in a breathless whisper against my lips.

With nothing but a towel to protect her back, I thrust my hips, burying myself inside of her sweet heat. Her legs fell open wider as she wrapped her arms around my shoulders, pulling my mouth down to hers just in time for me to catch her heated moan.

God, I loved that sound.

The sound of her need for me. It filled my heart with purpose and gave me a reason to f*cking live again. I moved slow, cautious of the unforgiving surface beneath her back. Her nails dug into my skin as I rocked back and forth.

Breaths mingled.

Bodies merged.

I’d never made love to a woman before. Not like this. Not with every breath and fiber of my body. Not with this much love in my heart.

Eyes locked.

My forehead to hers, I caught a lone tear slide down the side of her cheek as she fell apart beneath me.

I let go of a painful breath and reached for my glove box, seeking the only thing that could replace this excruciating ache in my chest. I’d yet to open it for a million reasons, but mostly because I was afraid. Afraid of how it would make me feel. Afraid of what he had to say. But anything was better than losing her.