Burning for You: From Enemies to Fearless Lovers by Alessa Kelly

Author:Alessa Kelly [Kelly, Alessa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-08-16T18:30:00+00:00

An ambulance meets us on the ground, and the first responders tend to Jesse. They immediately stabilize him, and we arrive at the hospital in no time.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asks as we wait just outside the ICU.

“About what? Jesse?”

She shrugs.

I say, “He’s been an addict since he was a teenager, following our sister’s death. She drowned in the river near that shed I took you the first time.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Lucy was only seven. I was supposed to babysit her, but I wanted to cook with my mom that afternoon. She was making Dad’s favorite. So Jesse played with Lucy.” Articulating the event pierces my lungs. Deep down, I always wanted to confess it to someone. Now there’s no better listener than the woman sitting next to me.

“You know, Carolyn, I blame Jesse for her death. I always have, even though I know it was an accident. It didn’t help that my mom never talked to Jesse again after that.” Carolyn touches the top of my clasping hands. “I loved my sister. I was much closer to her than to Jesse. Jesse has always been a loner, the rebel.”

“Is that why you two hate each other?”

“Perhaps. But really, I don’t hate him. Since our dad passed, he’s only sober ten percent of the time, and we’ve fought each other so much I feel he’s not my brother anymore.”

“Well, he’ll wake up. So you’ll still have a chance to kiss and make up.”

I nod with a light chuckle.

“It must be nice to have siblings,” she says. “My mom couldn’t have any more kids.”

“You don’t look spoiled enough to be an only child.”

“Oh, no. My parents never spoiled me. I made my own bed, I took public transport to school, and I’ve worked for my pocket money since I was five.” She pauses for a moment, and then adds, “Although I was pretty hardheaded. Still am.” She scoffs at herself. “I got it from my dad, I guess. Wise men stay away from me—because of Dad, and because I remind them too much of him.”

“Is that a warning?” I quip.

“No. It’s just an honest confession.”

“Should I be scared?”

“Maybe,” she says. “But you know what? Learning from the past, I can say that men got scared because they came with the wrong intentions. They usually wanted me for what I have.”

I’m not after anything she has—I just want her. No, I’m not scared of her. If anything, I’m drawn to her even more.

If I fall in love with someone, of course I’ll put her first before Jesse. But for a girl to be able to deal with my crazy brother—lovingly—regardless of the situation, is even more special, because I never thought I would find someone like that.

“Actually, Levi,” she says, “when I asked you if you wanted to ‘talk about it,’ I meant… the sex.”

I choke. I dread the possibility that she might say it was a mistake.

But she kisses my lips. “It was the best I’ve had,” she whispers.

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