Secrets & Surrender 2 by L.G. Castillo Read Free Book Online Page B

telling me every single thing I had felt. He knew. He understood. He was like me.
    “I can’t let you help. You’ll get into trouble.”
    “Let me worry about that.”
    His eyes held onto mine, searching, and I couldn’t hide. Those mesmerizing eyes latched onto something deep within me and were slowly drawing it out. I was losing the fight.
    “Why are you doing this...?”
    To me.
    “I care for your family and you. I know you’re with Nic, and he’s a nice guy, but he can never understand you like I do.”
    I shook my head as he brought me closer to him. I wanted to tell him he was wrong, but the words got stuck in my throat, trapped in the deluge of emotions that I shouldn’t be feeling for anyone but Nic.
    “Wake up!” He gripped my arms, his dark eyes wild, daring me to see what he saw. “Look at Nic’s world. Look at your world. Our world. He doesn’t fit in. I do.” Loosening his grip, he glided his hands up my arms and then buried his fingers in my hair.
    I couldn’t look away. His voice was deep, melodic, and echoing within my mind.
    “I see the essence of your soul, Manuela. I know you—every single part of you. Tu voz.”
    My voice.
    His thumb stroked my neck as he drew me closer to him.
    “Tus ojos.”
    My eyes.
    A violent pulse thrashed against my chest as he kissed my temples. The scruff on his chin rubbed against my cheek as he kissed one side then the other.
    “Tus labios.”
    My...
    lips.
    He ducked his head, his lips hovering over mine, only a breath away, waiting.
    Time stilled, waiting for my answer. And in that moment, I wondered, wondered what it would be like to be kissed by Julian, wondered what it would be like to be the Aztec princess lying in the warrior’s arms, to never have to be the bridge between two worlds, to never have to worry that I didn’t fit in.  I wondered what it would be like to be accepted for who I was and not have to compromise. I wanted to be able to share my secret with someone who understood because they’d been there too.
    Ever so slowly, my head tilted upward.
    Then Nic came filtering through my mind: the way he danced to a pop song no other guy would dare dance to just so he could touch me; the way he learned Spanish just to serenade me; and the night he bared his soul, loving me with all his heart.
    “I can’t.” Julian’s face fell. I wasn’t being fair to him either. He had felt what I had been feeling since the day I’d met him—that undeniable pull that I’d fought so hard against. So, for once, I unlocked my heart and admitted it.
    “You’re right. I was afraid of you. Afraid that maybe you were right and that maybe I should be with you. But I’m with Nic.”
    “Do you trust him?”
    “I...well...”
    “Does he know about your mother?” Julian’s voice was harsh in its pain.
    “No, but...”
    “Then you don’t trust him. How can you love someone you can’t even trust?”
    I reached out to him, caressing his cheek, wishing to take the hurt look off his face. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
    I kept my hand on his cheek, locking my eyes with his. For a flickering moment, I wondered if what he said was true.
    Mom had said to follow my heart. And if Nic was my heart, why did it ache to see Julian hurt?
    “Oh, hey, Nic!”
    At the sound of Kristie’s voice, gravity took hold and I crashed to the ground.
    My head turned at a snail’s pace, picking up every single thing around me: the rustling of each leaf as the wind blew, the splashing water as kids jumped into the river, the crackle of ice in fizzing soda, and the rapid beat of my heart. My eyes drifted to my mom’s sympathetic expression and then to Kristie’s blue eyes, which were wide with shock and surprise.
    Then I stopped.
    Don’t move.
    Don’t breathe.
    I braced for the moment, that inevitable moment that I’d fought so long to avoid.
    Nic.
    I focused on the little alligator on his polo shirt. I couldn’t look up. I couldn’t bear to see his face.
    I closed my