“I can be a dickhead and I do it on purpose. I tend to bully people into doing what I want. And I let everything that had happened with Dawson amplify those…uh, personality traits. But—” He removed his finger, and his grin spread into a smile. “But you…you make me want to be different. That’s why I didn’t kill Blake. It’s why I don’t want you making those decisions or for you to be around me if I am choosing those things.”

“I can help Katy," Blake wheezed. "Good enough for you?""What?" I demanded, dropping my hands."Yeah, see, you saying her name alone makes me want to kill you. So, no, not good enough for me.”

“Em, you have a soul.”“How can you be so sure of that, Hayden? How many people die and come back?”“No one dies and comes back. You did because of your sister, and you have a gift. Maybe that played a role in your coming back, but you have a soul. You aren’t evil. There’s nothing you can say that will make me think that.” I looked up and our gazes locked. “And there’s nothing you can say to make me feel differently.” He lowered his eyes. Thick lashes fanned his cheeks. “I know you do, because I wouldn’t want to… to kiss you if you didn’t have a soul.” I froze. “You… you want to kiss me?”

“I can’t keep pretending that I don’t want this – that I don’t want you. I can’t. Not after what happened to you. It thought… I thought I’d lost you, Alex, forever. And I would’ve lost everything. You are my everything.”

“What are you still doing up?” I twisted around, spotting Hayden in the doorway. “Watching the… uh,” I turned back, frowning at the screen, “the… way tigers mate.” I sighed. Damn you, Discovery Channel. He chuckled deep in his throat. “Didn’t know that kind of thing interested you.”“Oh. Yeah, always wanted to know how they picked their boyfriends.”

“What are we going to do kitten?”My toes curled at the deep octave of his voice. "I don’t know."“I have a few ideas.”I cracked a grin. “I'm sure you do.”“Wanna hear about them? Although, I'm much better at the show part rather than the tell.”“Somehow, I believe you.”“If you didn’t, I could always give you a teaser.” He paused, and I could hear the smile in his voice. “You bookish people love teasers, don’t you?”

“His lips parted. "Couldn’t fool you for that long, I guess."I squeezed my eyes shut, but a tear wiggled its way free, gliding down my cheek."Don’t cry." He caught the tear with his finger as he pressed his forehead against mine. "Please. I hate when you cry because of me.""I'm sorry. I don’t want to be all weepy." I wiped at my cheeks, feeling foolish. "It’s just that...I never did know."Aiden clasped the sides of my face, pressing a gentle kiss to my forehead. "I wanted a piece of you with me always. No matter what."I shuddered. "But I don’t...I don’t have anything of you.""Yes, you do." Aiden brushed his lips over my damp cheek. A soft smile filled his voice. "You’ll have a piece of my heart — all of it, really. Forever. Even if your heart belongs to someone else.”