Juliet Immortal

mate or whatever.”
    I turn, shifting until I can see his face. The intensity in his eyes makes me forget the argument I was forming, forget everything but how much I want to believe him. Even the deep, nearly auburn glow of his aura—the blush that confirms his love for another—can’t convince me to move away. I’m not sure anything could. Not right now, not when he’s so close, that fire burning in his eyes reminding me so much of myself, of the way I love.
    “And I told her when we went for coffee that I wasn’t interested. She knows that. She knew it last night. All we did was talk and feed the horses carrots, because you’re the person I want to be with,” he whispers, pushing my rain-soaked hair away from my face. “I knew that when you started fighting me for the gas pedal. I think I was in love with you by the time I dropped you off at your house.”
    “But—”
    “I hated that you and Gemma were friends because I knew it would hurt my chances with you,” he says, pushing on, his determination simmering in every word. “And last night, thinking about you being with Dylan … I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t stand thinking that you were with him, that he might be touching you, kissing you … I just—I—” He breaks off with a sigh.“I’m not doing this right, and I know I sound crazy, but … I love you. I could see myself loving you for a long time.”
    My breath rushes out. “I wish I could see that too.” The tears flow faster. His words are breaking my heart into jagged pieces that stab away inside of me. Having him so close but so impossibly out of reach feels as if it really might kill me.
    “Whatever happened to make you so sad …” Ben’s words trail off as his face drifts closer to mine. Closer, closer, until I can feel his warmth against my lips. “I would do anything to make it better.” Closer, until our exhalations meet and mingle and I pull a piece of him inside me with my next breath. “I want to be the person you come to for … everything.”
    So close our lips will touch if either of us moves an inch. “We can’t do this,” I whisper.
    “We can.” His hand comes to my cheek, cupping my face with a gentle insistence that sends sparks shivering over my skin. “I love you. I’ll prove it, if you’ll give me a chance.”
    And then he kisses me and any thought of protest vanishes with the press of his lips against mine. He is … 
perfect
, as perfect as I knew he would be. His kiss fills me up like sunshine, burning away every bad thing, beating back the darkness that’s weighed so heavy inside me since the day I learned there would be no happy ending. Not for me.
    But in this moment, with his arms wrapped around me and his taste on my lips, his breath my breath, I swear I’ve been wrong. There is such a thing as happiness, and he whispers my name and holds me safe.
    But who will hold Ben safe if Romeo convinces Gemma she should kill him? Her aura might be red, but she’s not beyond Mercenary reach, not until Ben burns just as brightly for her
.
    My blood chills, moves sluggishly in my veins. Romeo can do it. Gemma is vulnerable; she’s angry with me, and likely to get angrier when Ben tells her how he feels about Ariel. And he
will
tell her. He can’t know that she won’t understand, that his confession will put his life in danger. If this shift proceeds like every other, if he and Gemma don’t end up together, they will perish apart.
    And I’m not willing to risk Ben’s life on the chance that this time will be different.
    I turn my mouth from his, ignoring the howl of protest from my selfish soul. “I can’t.” I stand and stumble away, shivering in the sudden chill.
    “Please, Ariel, I—”
    “I can’t do this. I don’t love you.”
    Hurt flashes in his eyes. “You wouldn’t have kissed me like that if—”
    “It was just a kiss. It doesn’t mean I love you, and I
know
you don’t love me.” I jab the words in his direction, doing my best to get through to him. “We barely even know each other, and three days ago you were probably saying you were in love with my best friend.”
    “No, I wasn’t. I swear, I told her I wasn’t into her, even before you and I met. She just wouldn’t
listen
to me. Or she would, but then she came up and kissed me like we hadn’t talked about being friends. She’s just crazy, Ariel, I—”
    “I don’t care.”
    “Please, don’t do this.” He reaches for me, a gesture of such