Out of the Ashes by Kelly Hashway Read Free Book Online

to break. “You said you had to tell me something, but then you didn’t. We had sex, Cara. It was what we both wanted.”
    “God, I can’t—”
    “I’m not asking you to sleep with me. I’m asking you to kiss me. That’s all. I swear I won’t take it any further.” I brush my thumb across her cheek. “I love you, Cara.”
    Her eyes close, and a single tear trails down her cheek. “Please don’t say that.”
    “Not saying it won’t change it.”
    “It’s too hard to hear right now.” She still won’t look at me. I could easily lean forward and kiss her, but I don’t want her to hate me for it. Although I’m confident she’ll enjoy the kiss once she gets over the shock of it.
    “Open your eyes,” I say.
    She does, and she pulls back slightly when she realizes how close we are. She’s so obviously conflicted. I don’t doubt there’s a big part of her that wants me to kiss her, but she’s also trying to be a good little Phoenix. Kissing me would be defying her kind and what they told her to do.
    “Did they tell you not to talk to me?”
    She nods. “My mom thinks the imprint will fade if I stay away from you.”
    “And what if I can’t stay away from you?” I close the little distance between us. “Look, you’re not backing away. You must feel, somewhere deep inside, that this is right. That we’re meant to be together.”
    “You’re not a Phoenix. That means we can’t be together.”
    “Says who? Garret?” I wish I could have one good swing at that guy.
    “Says my mother’s imprint.”
    Her mother imprinted on someone? “What do you mean?”
    “She was heartbroken when my dad died, and now she’s stuck with this imprint that won’t let her move on. If I fall for you, I’ll be just like her.”
    “You’ll feel the way I feel now.” I didn’t think about that. Can I really put her through this, knowing how much it hurts?
    “We’re not sure if she’ll be able to imprint on someone else in her next life, but at least we’re hopeful that this imprint will break once she’s reborn again.”
    “Because that’s what happened to you. You forgot you love me.” This time I back away from her.
    “You won’t always feel this way. You’ll forget me as soon as this imprint fades.” Her voice is full of hope, like she thinks this is what’s best for me. She couldn’t be more wrong.
    “No. I’ll never forget you, Cara, because you changed me. You made me open up about my mom and why I wore that leather jacket.” Her eyes narrow because she doesn’t remember. “The jacket was the last thing my mom gave me before she died in a car accident, and now it’s gone too. It burned up in that chemistry lab, along with you. Don’t you see? I have nothing left. My dad doesn’t give two shits about me. He works all the time so he doesn’t have to be around me because I remind him too much of Mom. That’s fine with me because he’s the reason she’s dead. I can’t stand to look at his face. And I had you. You made everything better—being in this backwoods town, losing her. Now I don’t have you. If this imprint fades, I’ll truly have nothing left.”
    I turn away because I can feel the tears filling my eyes, and I’ll be damned if I’m crying in front of Cara. I already feel like a complete wuss for blurting out all my feelings like that.
    Her hand presses against my back. “Logan…”
    “Don’t tell me you’re sorry. I don’t want your pity. Forget I said all that.”
    I lower myself into the water to regain my composure. I open my eyes and see Cara under the water with me. We stare at each other for a moment before we surface. Our faces are so close when we come up for air. I can see the mental battle going on inside her, and even if she doesn’t understand what she’s feeling, I do.
    “Don’t even think about kissing me right now. That’s not why I told you that. It wasn’t a move to get you to give in to me.”
    “I didn’t think it was.” She reaches for