Read Online Ever Bound by Odessa Gillespie Black - Free Book Online
Authors: Odessa Gillespie Black
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ultimate crime or if she really felt them.
She was silent as she stared up at me. Her cheeks flushed and her hair fell from its updo.
Had I done that? I quaked with happiness. Who cared? I was holding her. It was all that mattered.
“What you told me in the forest? I don’t think I heard wrong.”
She bit her lip and looked at my chest. “I mean, if that’s okay, I guess—”
“Surely you aren’t asking my permission to love me?” I could have crushed her in a bear hug, but she was so fragile. The strong, indignant girl who turned my bones to mush and sent my blood boiling was so small compared to the world around her. I would give my last breath to protect her from it.
“Cole Kinsley, would you mind terribly if I’ve fallen head over heels, foolishly, and quite blindly in love with you?” She met my gaze and slid her soft hand down my cheek.
And I’d only thought I’d fallen for her in the forest. I had never truly loved until that moment.
After her question, I remembered her sister. What she’d done. What she’d stolen from me and now from Annabeth.
Annabeth deserved to know the truth. And when she learned the truth, she’d think I was lying.
Nobody could use magical powers to bewitch a man into their arms. It was fairly easy to get most men into a woman’s seductive grip, so would Annabeth believe that I wasn’t like other men?
After her sister pulled one of her wounded animal routines and convinced Annabeth I had in fact seduced Grace, Annabeth would hate me.
How would I ever be able to let her go?
Maybe after a few days, weeks, months, she would love me so much that when I did tell her, she’d believe me. She’d know enough about my true character that she’d know I’d never lie.
“I don’t deserve you.” I cupped her cheek. “I could spend a lifetime staring into your eyes.”
“I honestly thought you hated me for the longest time.” She linked her arms around my neck.
“The way you yell at me all the time, I thought you hated me.” I pulled her as close as possible.
She kissed my nose, but winced. “I’m a little sore. I think I was on top of a rock in the woods.”
“I wish you’d let me kill him. I could make it where no one would ever find him.” I really could have and would have if the prospect of never seeing her again hadn’t been real.
“You’re not that kind of man. I can’t help but notice how you are with the workers. You do their chores so they can spend time with their small children. You nurse sick animals back to health, and even if one is unfortunate enough to not make it through an illness, you shed tears. Don’t be mad. That house is terribly boring. I have to have something to focus on. Who better than a perfect person to watch from the shadows. You love life. And now…”
“And now I love you. I do. I couldn’t say that a few days ago. I felt it, but every time I considered it, I think I broke everything I touched.”
“Why?”
“Because I thought you would never have me.”
“Now, I’ll never let you go.”
It was a girly thing to have your legs turn to mush, but she held me up. I couldn’t have stood if she hadn’t had her arms around me. I almost got my rear full of thorns leaning back on the wall, but she jarred me back to reality.
“If we’re going to be smart about this, we have to be more careful. We can’t be out in the middle of the yard like this.” She pulled from my embrace.
I grabbed at her arms and playfully brought her back to me. “I thought you were never going to let me go.”
She slapped at my arms and giggled. “You know what I meant. I have to get to the house before anyone suspects anything. We’re going to have to hide for a while.” She kissed my lips, jerked sideways away from my teasing hands, and dashed toward her house.
Chapter 6
As soon as I walked in the door of my house and put my books down, Pop asked me to go to the main house to work on the rose maze. Any other day, my
She was silent as she stared up at me. Her cheeks flushed and her hair fell from its updo.
Had I done that? I quaked with happiness. Who cared? I was holding her. It was all that mattered.
“What you told me in the forest? I don’t think I heard wrong.”
She bit her lip and looked at my chest. “I mean, if that’s okay, I guess—”
“Surely you aren’t asking my permission to love me?” I could have crushed her in a bear hug, but she was so fragile. The strong, indignant girl who turned my bones to mush and sent my blood boiling was so small compared to the world around her. I would give my last breath to protect her from it.
“Cole Kinsley, would you mind terribly if I’ve fallen head over heels, foolishly, and quite blindly in love with you?” She met my gaze and slid her soft hand down my cheek.
And I’d only thought I’d fallen for her in the forest. I had never truly loved until that moment.
After her question, I remembered her sister. What she’d done. What she’d stolen from me and now from Annabeth.
Annabeth deserved to know the truth. And when she learned the truth, she’d think I was lying.
Nobody could use magical powers to bewitch a man into their arms. It was fairly easy to get most men into a woman’s seductive grip, so would Annabeth believe that I wasn’t like other men?
After her sister pulled one of her wounded animal routines and convinced Annabeth I had in fact seduced Grace, Annabeth would hate me.
How would I ever be able to let her go?
Maybe after a few days, weeks, months, she would love me so much that when I did tell her, she’d believe me. She’d know enough about my true character that she’d know I’d never lie.
“I don’t deserve you.” I cupped her cheek. “I could spend a lifetime staring into your eyes.”
“I honestly thought you hated me for the longest time.” She linked her arms around my neck.
“The way you yell at me all the time, I thought you hated me.” I pulled her as close as possible.
She kissed my nose, but winced. “I’m a little sore. I think I was on top of a rock in the woods.”
“I wish you’d let me kill him. I could make it where no one would ever find him.” I really could have and would have if the prospect of never seeing her again hadn’t been real.
“You’re not that kind of man. I can’t help but notice how you are with the workers. You do their chores so they can spend time with their small children. You nurse sick animals back to health, and even if one is unfortunate enough to not make it through an illness, you shed tears. Don’t be mad. That house is terribly boring. I have to have something to focus on. Who better than a perfect person to watch from the shadows. You love life. And now…”
“And now I love you. I do. I couldn’t say that a few days ago. I felt it, but every time I considered it, I think I broke everything I touched.”
“Why?”
“Because I thought you would never have me.”
“Now, I’ll never let you go.”
It was a girly thing to have your legs turn to mush, but she held me up. I couldn’t have stood if she hadn’t had her arms around me. I almost got my rear full of thorns leaning back on the wall, but she jarred me back to reality.
“If we’re going to be smart about this, we have to be more careful. We can’t be out in the middle of the yard like this.” She pulled from my embrace.
I grabbed at her arms and playfully brought her back to me. “I thought you were never going to let me go.”
She slapped at my arms and giggled. “You know what I meant. I have to get to the house before anyone suspects anything. We’re going to have to hide for a while.” She kissed my lips, jerked sideways away from my teasing hands, and dashed toward her house.
Chapter 6
As soon as I walked in the door of my house and put my books down, Pop asked me to go to the main house to work on the rose maze. Any other day, my
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