“You have no right to be upset. So what if I fucked him? I belong to him, Keenan. I don’t belong to you. I haven’t for four years… maybe I never did.”

I choked on my last words when his hands closed around my throat. My feet fought for the ground when he lifted me high. We were moving, but I couldn’t see where. It wasn’t until my ankle banged against the railing that I realized I was dangling over the edge with only his strength and mercy to keep me from falling twenty stories.

“Answer me,” he demanded. “Or I’ll make our daughter a motherless child.” Coldly, he made a show of releasing a hand from my neck. I was only held up by one.

I told myself not to struggle, but I couldn’t help but to do just that.

My vision blurred.

My face heated while the rest of me had gone cold, and suddenly, I couldn’t fight anymore.

I made the effort to take one last look, hoping to find the boy I fell in love with a lifetime ago.

I froze.

When my eyes finally locked with his, it wasn’t rage I found in his expressive depths. Tears streamed down his face, and all I could see was hurt, panic, and lost love just before it all faded away.

* * * * *

SEVEN YEARS AGO

“Are you cold?”

“A little.”

Keenan shrugged off the hoodie I often saw him wear and wrapped it around my shoulders.

“How’s that?”

“Better.” To be honest, I was still a little cold but I appreciated the effort. We were having a late night, forbidden picnic in the park. I wanted to look my best for our first date so I foolishly chose the thinnest and shortest dress I could find in my wardrobe. I had only just turned fifteen, so I didn’t have many that my mom deemed appropriate for a girl my age.

“Liar.”

He grinned just as his arms came around. I didn’t expect it or for him to settle me on his lap and wrap them tighter around me. My body instantly warmed from the feeling of his. It was equal parts flustering and body heat.

“How about this?” he whispered against my neck.

“I definitely feel warm now.”

“Good. I wouldn’t want my girl getting sick.”

“Your—your girl?” I stammered.

“I told you I’d make you mine.”

Keenan hadn’t wasted any time asking me out. It had only been two days since he first spoke to me in the hall. He said he had a few hoops to jump through first, a.k.a. my brother. Yesterday they’d gotten into a pretty bad fistfight. Dash wouldn’t agree to let him take me out and apparently, the confrontation escalated. What I didn’t understand was how they could possibly still be friends.

Keenan currently sported a black eye and several bruises that disappeared inside his shirt. Dash hadn’t fared any better from the fight.

In the end, Keenan made the decision that he would take me out on a date, and Dash couldn’t stop him.

“I won’t be yours for long if I don’t get back home soon. My parents will kill me if they find out I snuck out.”

We’d actually gone on our date earlier to the movies but a few hours after returning me home, I’d heard the first tap on my window. When I asked what he was doing at my window so late, he had charmingly declared that he couldn’t wait to see me again. I had melted right there against the windowsill and didn’t care who might see.

“If my queen wishes… but first things first…”

“What’s that?” I could literally feel my heart race with excitement at the look in his eyes. It was a look I was quickly becoming accustomed to seeing. Sometimes, he would just stare at me as if unwilling to let me go so he kept me captive with his eyes.

“Have you ever kissed anyone?”

Should I lie or tell the truth? Would he think I was a loser if I told him the truth? Would he think I was a slut if I didn’t?”

“If you’re thinking about lying to me, I would love it if you didn’t. Whatever your answer is, I will still want you.”

For the second time tonight, I melted. I realized that with Keenan, it was a constant state of being. “No, I haven’t ever.”

The wide, boyish smile that graced his lips put me at ease. His hand boldly slid up my front. My dress bunched slightly. All the while, I anticipated the moment he would touch my… ribs?

His hand stopped there to pull me closer before skipping over my breasts entirely and gripping my neck. “Can I be your first?”

I barely finished nodding before his lips brushed mine in the softest caress. It was a feeling I would never forget and one I’d hope to never lose.