Chapter 13
So I didn’t. And when my thumb brushed over his lower lip, it trembled.
“You said it was to protect me,” he whispered. “You said it was the only way.”
Now that he was speaking again, I really should have dropped my hand back to my lap. I didn’t. I continued to caress his face in slow, hypnotic strokes. The heat bled from his skin, degrees hotter than I expected. He almost felt feverish, but there was no sign of it in his cheeks or eyes.
“Protect you from what?”
“Death.”
“Why would I do that? Every human dies. It’s the nature of the cycle.”
His tongue appeared, moistening his dry lips. “Because you loved me.”
As simple as that. The best lies are based on truth, and those who toss them about understand that complexity will ultimately destroy them. This had all the making of a lie, were it not for one small, irrefutable detail.
I could easily imagine loving this man.