Chapter 49 · I didn't reject you because I didn't want you

He stopped.

For half a second, the shouting blurred around us.

His hand slid from my waist to my wrist. His palm shook against my skin.

"I didn't reject you because I didn't want you," he said.

I stared at him.

"Don't do this now."

"You asked me for the truth."

"I asked you years ago. You gave me one sentence and walked away."

"Because the Council had your name."

My fingers went numb against the lock.

Ronan stepped closer. His wet shirt brushed mine. Heat slipped between us, trapped beneath the cold water and the roar of the gate.

"They had a blood contract tied to your family line," he said. "If I claimed you, the contract would've opened Gate Seven through you. They would've used your body as the key, then drowned half the harbor when they were done."

My throat closed.

"So you humiliated me instead?"

"I made them believe you meant nothing to me."

"You looked straight at me and said you felt nothing."

His mouth tightened.

"I lied."

The gate shuddered.

The floor bucked hard enough to throw me into him. His hand caught the back of my neck.