Broken kingdom

He doesn’t say a word as he gets off the bike and starts walking. 

I follow close behind him and I’m even more baffled when I see a small tent at the end of the beach. 

Given it was set up before we got here, he must have done it earlier. 

Which makes no sense…unless. 

“Have you been here the whole time?” 

I don’t know why I didn’t think to check here in the first place. Oakley once told me it’s one of his favorite places to go when he wants to be alone. 

Wordlessly, he takes a backpack out of the tent and pulls out a few bottles of water, not even bothering to look my way. 

His silence cuts like a knife. 

“I know you hate me but can you at least tal—”

“I don’t hate you.” He gives me a look that robs me of breath. “Trust me it would be a lot easier if I could.” 

I swallow against the pounding of my heart. “I know I screwed up, but you can’t just disappear like that. You can’t—

“You don’t get to have a say in what I can or can’t fucking do.” His deep voice rumbles through the air, wrapping around me. “You lost that right when you stole my phone and started accusing me of shit.” 

My heart sinks. “I—” 

“Did you fuck him?” 

The inquiry snaps like a whip. 

I’m briefly thrown off, but I answer honestly. “No. I wouldn’t do that—”

“It’s late.” He turns his back to me, directing all his attention toward the ocean now. “There’s an air mattress in the tent you can sleep on. It’s not that comfortable, but it’s better than nothing.” 

I shuffle my feet in the sand. “What if the fire comes?” 

“Then we swim.” 

I’m about to tell him Cole came up with a similar plan, but I stop myself. 

Because our co

I severed it with my obnoxious game fueled by jealousy.

I take a step closer to him. “Oakley?” 

His shoulders tense. “What?” 

My heart hurts at the hollowness of his voice. 

“I’m sorry.” Closing the distance between us, I press my body against his back, breathing in his scent. “I never should have taken your phone to text Hayley. And I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions when I saw you with that woman at the bar.” A sharp kick of pain hits my heart. “And I definitely shouldn’t have let you think I was fucking some random guy as payback.” 

Truth be told I can’t blame him for being so angry with me. What I did was not only immature…it was hurtful. 

Turning his head, he speaks over his shoulder. “This won’t work if you can’t trust me.” 

I press a gentle kiss to his shoulder blade. “I do trust you.” 

Deep down, I know Oakley would never hurt me. 

However, the thought of anyone else having him…doesn’t sit well with me. 

“But I don’t like sharing you,” I whisper. “I want you all to myself.” 

And maybe that’s wrong of me, but I can’t help how I feel. 

I start to walk away, but his next words stop me in my tracks. 

“That’s the thing, Bianca.” Slowly, he turns. His expression is twisted in pain, as though he’s battling something stronger than him. “You do have me.”

 I’m not sure what he’s saying. “What—”

Jaw bunching, he grits his teeth. “The harder I fight whatever this thing is between us…the stronger your hold on me gets.” Heaving out a long sigh, he shrugs as if succumbing to his fate. “So I’m done fighting it.” 

The air between us grows so thick you could cut it with a knife. “Does that mean—”

“That we’re together?” He scrubs a hand down his face. “Yeah…yeah we fucking are.” 

My heart pounds so hard it feels like it could burst from my chest as I run and jump into his arms. 

His mouth finds mine and once again I’m drowning in him, sinking faster into his abyss. 

But for the first time in days…I can finally breathe. 

I feel the rapid thump of Oakley’s heart against my back as he holds me close, keeping me safe and warm in his embrace. 

Neither of us have been able to sleep but it has nothing to do with the air mattress. 

The fire is coming. 

All the news outlets have officially confirmed Royal Manor is next on the path of destruction. 

At this rate, it would take nothing short of a miracle to stop the blaze from ruining our town. 

 “We might die,” I whisper into the darkness. 

I expect Oakley to tell me I’m being dramatic and to reassure me we’ll be okay, but he doesn’t. 

Instead, he holds me tighter, as if his arms alone can protect me from the impending flames that will turn us into nothing but ash.

Tears blur my eyes as I try to speak. “Oakley?” 

I’m so scared. 

Not just of dying…but of everything I’m going to miss. 

The things I’ll never get to experience. 

He presses a soft kiss to the crook of my neck. “Yeah, baby girl?”

Shifting to face him, I peer into his eyes. “I don’t want to die without knowing what it’s like to feel you inside me.” 

Heat flashes in his orbs before he closes them. “Baby—”

“Holy shit,” I groan in frustration. “Why won’t you fuck me?” A horrible thought flits through my head. “Oh my God. It’s because I’ve never had sex before, isn’t it? I’m a virgin which means I’ll be bad in bed and you don’t want to have to teach me—”

“Jesus Christ.” He cups my cheekbone. “It’s not that.” A crease forms between his brows. “Fine. You want the truth? Back when we first started hooking up I didn’t want to fuck you because I didn’t want you getting attached to me…but now…” 

“Now what?” I urge when his sentence trails off. 

He inhales deeply. “I don’t want you being impulsive and making a mistake you’ll end up regretting one day.” 

I don’t know what hurts worse. The fact that he obviously thinks our relationship is still temporary. 

Or that he thinks I’ll regret him. Regret us. 

“Oakley?” I grab his face, forcing him to look at me. “No matter what happens between us, being with you—feeling all the things I feel for you—it will never be a mistake.” 

I have to stop myself before I utter those three words. Not because I don’t feel them, but I’m afraid they might push him away when I want to hold on to him with everything I’ve got. 

I don’t know what to make of the expression on his face. 

“Say something,” I whisper. “I need to know what you’re think—”

His mouth crashes against mine in a kiss so electrifying, I feel it in my bones. 

I’m breathless the second I feel his tongue brush mine and he deepens the kiss…as if I’m the thing he needs most in this world. 

A knot of hunger forms in my chest when he pushes my tank top past my ribcage, exposing my belly. 

“So fucking beautiful.” 

The pads of his fingertips skim the underside of my bare breasts, and I swear I lose all my senses when his mouth moves to my neck and his teeth graze my pulse point. “That feels so good.” 

Heat flares over my skin when he slips my tank top over my head and his mouth dips lower. “Christ. I love your fucking tits.” 

Plumping one in his big hand, he teases my puckered nipples with his lips, barely touching them. 

“Oakley,” I beg. “Please—” 

“I know what you want.” There’s a wicked gleam in his eyes as he licks a slow, deliberate circle around one of my nipples. “Now be a good girl so I can give it to you.” 

God, I love his dirty words. The way he makes me anticipate his every touch.