Conviction: Devine Read Online Free Page A

his shoulder and dropped rather rudely on my bed, my back hitting the mattress and bouncing a few inches into the air. His large body enclosed mine as his fingers buried deep into the roots of my hair and he wrapped a clump around his fist, holding my head still. His face was furious, his eyes narrowing and glinting as he leaned into me, the tip of his nose feathering mine as his heaving chest pressed against my own. “Don’t you dare, Isla. All I’ve done since I was eighteen is think about you, run my life for you! I did FUCKING TIME FOR YOU!”
    I winced when his hold grew tighter the angrier he became.
    “Have you any idea what happens in those places? What I gave up for you. FOR YOU!”
    I shook my head like a lunatic, his face distorting with every move and every tear that flicked off my face.
    He grimaced as if suddenly aware of his rage. His grip loosened but he didn’t let go. Dropping his face closer, he drew the tip of his nose along my own, his breathing stalling for a moment. “I can’t ever give you up. Not now. Not now I have you. The first time I saw you I knew you were it, the one for me. You were so beautiful and gentle, like this perfect little flower that would lose its petals if the wind blew too hard. And when the storm came, you held on. Oh, how you held on. But now your petals are falling and you’re standing at the edge watching them wilt and drop. This isn’t you. You fight, Isla. You always fought.”
    I stared at him for a moment, my heart in my mouth, my soul hanging on like my petals. “Maybe I’m tired, Jake. Maybe I don’t want to fight anymore. Maybe I want to step over the edge and fall to the bottom. I can’t do this anymore.”
    He shook his head. “You can. This is just the autumn, sweetheart. The spring will come and when it does you will be so much stronger for holding on. I promise.”
    He brushed my hair aside with a gentle sweep, his eyes fixed on mine as I stared at him. I could read the desperation in them, the hope and the guilt but it was the love displayed so openly that caused me to nod. I was still so angry with him but still I nodded.
    “I’ll hold on,” I whispered.
    He smiled softly, dropping a tiny kiss to my nose. “I’m sorting it, I promise.”
    I nodded again. If I was honest I wasn’t even sure what I was feeling never mind what I was thinking. Jake had this hold on me that whatever we both did I couldn’t sever the link. I didn’t think I would ever be able to sever it.
    “And Genesis?” I had to ask. I needed to know.
    He sighed and sat up. “It’s complicated.”
    “Of course it is!” I huffed but he scowled at me and shifted so that he was looking at me.
    “Not in the way you think. Gen and I go way back.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “Gen and Dwaine share the same mother.”
    I gasped, my hand flying to my mouth. “What?”
    “That’s how I met her, through Dwaine and Meredith. However, her father, Freddy, is high in the underbelly of our world.”
    I narrowed my eyes. “Are you telling me you’re using Genesis to get to Freddy?”
    He shrugged. “I told you. I’m not a good man. I’m far from a good man. I will do whatever it takes to get the outcome I want.”
    “Including screwing Genesis?” I spat as I scrambled off the bed, my mind in turmoil and my stomach in knots as I pictured them together.
    “I haven’t screwed her! Well, not since a few years back. It was just a kiss, Isla.”
    “Just a kiss?” My mouth popped open as I stared at him. “How can you say that? Have you any idea what seeing that did to me?”
    He blinked and then smirked, a devious smile growing wide on his face. He took a step towards me, grabbing my wrist when I tried to move away. I grabbed onto his arms when I tumbled against him. “That sounds like jealousy, sweetheart.”
    “Are you crazy?”
    He nodded, pursing his lips. “We’ve had this discussion before and I was sure we verified that fact time and time