Avenger (Impossible #3) by Julia Sykes Read Free Book Online Page B

that he forgave me.  Was that possible?  The way that he was looking at me now made me dare to hope that it was. 
    “Then they arrested me,” he continued.  “I kept my silence for a while, but then Agent Vaughn talked to me.  He told me everything that you had done for me, how you were trying to keep me out of prison in exchange for your testimony.  I realized then that you weren’t betraying me; you were trying to free me.  And I can’t tell you how grateful I am for that.  I thought that I was trapped, that I would never find a way out.  But you gave that to me, Claudia.”  His fingers traced the line of my jaw as he looked down at me, his eyes shining with wonder.
    Shame flooded me.  “But they arrested you, Sean.  I was reckless and selfish.  I broke my deal with the FBI so that I could kill Ronan, and without my testimony to protect you they put you in jail.”  It was my turn to look at him beseechingly.  “You have to know that I never wanted that.  I wasn’t thinking straight.  I never imagined that they -”
    Sean pressed his index finger to my lips, gently silencing me.  “It’s okay,” he reassured me.  “Vaughn didn’t want to press charges against me.  He believed in my innocence.  Because of you.  He offered me a deal, and I took it.  He said that I would walk free if I testified against the Westies.  I didn’t have to think twice.”
    I stared at him, thunderstruck.  “But…  But they’re your friends, your family.”
    As his gaze held mine, his eyes glowed with an intensity that took my breath away.  “They’ve made me what I am, what I hate.  And knowing you…  You’re so pure, Claudia, so good.   I know that I’ll never deserve you, that I can never make amends for everything that I’ve put you through, but I want to be better because of you.  I want to be better for you.  I know that you can never forgive me, but -”
    “Sean,” I breathed his name, cutting him off.  “There’s nothing to forgive.  Nothing that’s happened to me has been your fault.  I can see that now.  And I’m the one who betrayed you by going to the FBI.”
    “You didn’t betray me,” he said softly.  “You saved me.”
    His eyes were sparkling as he leaned down into me, and I experienced something that I thought I would never again experience in my life: the feeling of Sean’s lips against mine.  He was tentative at first, as though he was uncertain whether or not I would welcome his intimate touch.  I responded instantly and voraciously, pressing up into him, eagerly shaping my lips around his.  Our mouths molded to one another perfectly as he began to take me more confidently.  We poured all of our grief into the kiss, our shared pain fuelling the intensity of it as we clung to each other.  I don’t know how long we remained locked in one another’s embrace, losing ourselves in our passion. 
    But my busy mind wouldn’t stay quiet forever, and a horrible thought occurred to me, jerking me out of our perfect moment.  I pulled away reluctantly.
    “You have to go,” I said, trying to shove back the fresh tears that threatened to spill at the thought of him leaving me.  “It’s not safe for you here.  If your father finds out that you’re out of jail and that you’re with me, he’ll become suspicious.  By now I’m sure Bradley has told him that I’m the reason you were both arrested, and he likely told him about Clayton protecting me.  I don’t know if he realized that Clayton was FBI, but it will be pretty clear that the FBI is tailing me to protect me now that I’ve been attacked.  If Ronan finds out that you’re with me and the FBI knows about it, then he’ll know that you’ve turned against him.”
    Sean’s hand curved around the back of my head, holding me against him.  The possessive act let me know what he was going to say before the words came out of his mouth.  “I don’t care what my father thinks.  I’ve told the FBI