Page 16 of Unmasked Heart

“You make me want to steal you away from here,” Colton murmurs.

I lean more of my weight into him, tucking my face against his chest so he doesn’t see the effect his words have on me. It’s silly to get emotional over a throwaway comment like that. Colton cups the back of my head and holds me.

“I’ll take care of you, sweetheart,” he swears. “You’ll have it so good. I’ll give you everything you need.”

It’s so tempting. It’s what I wanted, to get away from this world while the party distracted everyone. I grip Colton’s lapels.

Maybe my mystery man is a knight in disguise, sent to sweep the trapped princess away from the life she hates so much.

For a second, I close my eyes and imagine the man beneath the mask isn’t Colton but Cohen, pretending to be someone else for my sake.

Despite how deeply I hate him, underneath it all I always held onto a stupid belief in my heart that he was capable of being a better man, the person I wanted him to be when we were kids.

All I have ever wanted is for Cohen to listen to me, to rely on me as an equal partner instead of treating me like another piece of property.

I know it’s a childish, naïve wish, but it lingers in my heart all the same.

Colton lifts my chin gently, tilting my face to meet his. The way he looks at me ignites a blistering fire and melts my insides. My breath catches as he leans down.

I strain up to meet him halfway, not giving a damn that anyone—the Deckers, the head of the Mastriano organization, my father, Cohen—could see us.