“Because I’m afraid that I might.” He stared at her, his brows pinched. “Don’t you see it, Faith? You’re a good girl. I knew it the first time I saw you. And I’m not a good guy. I’m going nowhere, and you’ve got your whole life ahead of you.”
“What if I want to spend that life with you?” That was the way she always was. Honest. Her pretty heart tacked right on her sleeve. Hiding nothing.
His spirit thrashed, and he wanted to wrap her up.
Maybe run away with her.
Hide from all the bullshit in his life.
The way the people in this stupid town looked at him.
The way his mama talked to him.
The way the men through the years had beaten him, and when he’d started to fight back, had turned to beating his brother and his cousin instead.
The anger it’d bred inside him, not to mention all the things he’d had to do to survive those things.
He was terrified that the only thing he’d ever amount to was the title of trash.
It was grief that flooded from his mouth. “I’m not sure I’ll ever be good enough for you. I won’t ever be able to take care of you the way you deserve to be.”
“Who says?” she challenged.
He laughed a bitter sound. “Everyone.”
She turned away and lightly ran her fingertips over the petals of a rose. “Do you want to know why I love this rose garden so much?”
He was behind her, her hair a dark river that tumbled down her back.
She glanced back at him. “Because someone planted them and then left them to die. I bet they wilted good when whoever used to care for them left them to fend for themselves. Forgotten. But they fought through all of that, grew stronger in the midst of it, and now they flourish. Now, they’re probably the most beautiful thing on this whole property.”
She turned around to face him, her voice fierce and soft. “It doesn’t matter what anyone says, Jace. It’s what you believe. What you see in yourself. If you want it badly enough, you can have it. If you work hard enough? Fight for it? You’re going to come out stronger on the other side.”
Her brow pinched. “I see that in you. See how great you are. I can see all the amazin’ things you can achieve. It’s all right there, waitin’ for you to accept it.”
A feeling swept him.
Something so intense.
So full.
Love.
It was the most powerful, scariest emotion a person could experience.
It crawled all over him. Seeping into the crevices and the cracks.
He set his palm on her jaw. “You make me feel like maybe I can.”
Sending her a soft smile, he grabbed the small pocketknife he carried from his back pocket and stepped around her, cutting one of the roses at the base of its stem.
He rolled it between his fingers, could feel the weight of her gaze burning at the side of his face.
“I think you’re all wrong, Faith. You are the most beautiful thing in this place. I look at these flowers, and I think of you. Maybe it’s you who believed in them enough, you willed them to grow.”
Her teeth raked across her bottom lip, so much affection in her voice that Jace shook. “Would that be such a bad thing? Everyone needs someone to believe in them.”
Her face pinched, and the confession came out. “I love you, Jace. I believe in you. I trust you. Maybe that’s the only thing that matters.”
He nearly crumbled at her feet.
“You are beauty, Faith.”
The epitome of it.
Inside and out.
He couldn’t help the bitterness from filling his tone. “And I’m exactly like that beast in that story. Everyone saw she was too good for him, and he fell in love with her anyway.”
Soft laughter rippled from between her lips. “What are you talkin’ about? You’re the most gorgeous boy I’ve ever seen. You walk the school halls, and every girl you pass swoons.”
He took her hand, pressed her palm to his thundering chest. “All my ugly is on the inside.”
“No . . . you just don’t see yourself for who you are.”
“Or maybe you’re just seeing what you want to see.”
She let her gaze sweep off to the side, to the house that sat like a massive shadow covering them. “Well, I guess it’s a good thing we have this haunted castle to keep us company, then.”
He wrapped an arm around her waist and tucked her close, swaying her around in the moonlight. She chewed at her lip, peeking up at him, something playful on her face.
“You think you aren’t goin’ anywhere, Jace Jacobs? Well, I’m not goin’ anywhere, either. I’m goin’ to stay right here in this very spot. I told you one day I was going to own this place.”
He brushed back the hair that’d fallen in her face, cupping her by the cheek, the anger and fear that had lined his voice turning light. “You gonna let me stay right here with you?”
“Mm-hmm.” Something shy and sweet took hold of her expression. “You and me. We’ll buy this place. Fix it up together. Run it together. Make something of it while we make something of ourselves.”
He spun them around, hugging her closer, their hearts beating in time as he joked, “Beauty and the beast and their haunted castle?”
“That’s right . . . except this castle is gonna be a bed and breakfast,” she said all cute and resolute.
Dreams. That was the thing about them. It didn’t matter if they were impossible or not. And Jace? He wanted to dream with her.
Chase it with her.
“What if I scare all the guests away?” he teased.
“Never . . . you’re too good to look at. I’m pretty sure once the word gets around, you’re going to be what brings in the crowds. At least the ladies.”
He shook his head. “We’re going to have to save a couple of those rooms for my brother and my cousin.”
“That’s just fine. They’re your family. And I like them. They’re sweet.”
Sweet.
Yeah, right.
Jace smiled, though there was a ripple of possessiveness behind it. “Joseph has a crush on you.”
Faith swatted at him. “Oh, he does not.”
“You really are blind, aren’t you?” There was a smile at the corner of his mouth, nothing hard in the words.
“If seeing this place as ours is blind, then so be it.”
“Hmm . . .” he mused. “Beauty’s Bed and Breakfast. Come stay at the BBB.”
A small giggle rippled up Faith’s throat. “For someone who thinks he’s so tough, that is the cheesiest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“What?” His mouth dropped open in feigned offense. “You don’t like it? Come on, Faith. This has to happen.”
She giggled a little more, a blush rushing to her face, her teeth tucking her bottom lip in a tight clamp.
And Jace let himself dream. What it might be like to get to stay there with her.
Forever.
The mood shifted around them, that intensity, the powerful energy he felt every time he was around her gliding through the damp, humid air.
He stared down at her as she tipped her face up to look at him, the moon all around her.
He touched her face. “Beauty,” he murmured.
A wistful smile played around Faith’s mouth. “Beast.”
Jace couldn’t take it any longer.
He took her mouth.
Her lips so soft.
Her tongue so sweet.
And they danced and they kissed and he let his arms roam down her sides.
Over her breasts.
Faith moaned and shuddered.
And he laid her down on the grass, hovering over her, wanting to sink inside.
But knowing he had to be careful.
That he didn’t want to taint beauty. Not when it had finally been offered into the protection of his hand.
Faith looked up at him.
Those eyes so trusting.
Jace let himself lay down over her, molding his body to hers, his kisses deep as he rocked against her.
Faith kicked her head back, gasping for air, and Jace kissed down the column of her neck.
Delicate fingers found their way into his hair. “Why’s it you feel so good? Just like this, our clothes still on?”