Marked by My Ex's Biggest Rival novel · Chapter 8 of 24

Chapter 8: Burn

"Why?" I said.

Kyler just shrugged.

"You'll work it out. You're smart. That was always the problem with you."

He walked back up the drive, past Krista coming down with her phone.

She stopped and stared at my face.

"What did he say?"

"Get in the truck," I said.

I drove us across the bridge. Roark was on his porch with a beer, watching the sun go down.

He stood up when he saw my face.

Krista took one look at the two of us and went inside to find Addison.

I told him everything on the porch steps.

Roark didn't say anything while I talked.

When I finished, he set his beer down on the railing very carefully.

"He left you in a fever to die," he said, "because he knew I'd come."

"Yes."

"He used you as bait."

"Yes."

"Don't tell me not to cross that river, Danica."

"Don't cross that river."

He turned away and gripped the porch rail with both hands.

"I wanted to kill him the night I found you," he said to the river. "I sat there with you in my arms and I thought about it the whole time."

"I know."

"How do you know?"

"Because you growled the whole way up the ridge with me in your arms. Addison told me."

He laughed once, rough, despite himself.

I came up beside him at the rail.

"I have to tell you something," I said. "In the archive, you asked if it's me or the bite."

He went still.

"I noticed you in June too," I said. "Before any bite. You sat in my chair and didn't say a word for an hour, and I kept messing up the linework because I could feel you watching my hands. I told myself it was nothing."

He turned his head.

"Danica."

"It's me," I said. "It was always me."

He kissed me.

His hand came up into my hair, and my back hit the porch post, and his mouth was on mine, hot and sure and not careful at all.

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