Oops! Questa immagine non segue le nostre linee guida sui contenuti. Per continuare la pubblicazione, provare a rimuoverlo o caricare un altro.
23
Harleywas stunned.
Dustin had just admitted to having feelings for her. Romantic feelings. As if it wasn't hard enough to believe that he even cared in the first place, now she had to accept this. She wasn't sure how to respond to him. She didn't even know how she felt about him anymore. Since they began their hunt together, their relationship seemed to shift into something else. Something less hostile and more...trustworthy. She couldn't exactly call them enemies or rivals anymore, but they certainly weren't anything else either. She was so confused.
He shook his head lightly and waved his hand to dismiss what he had just said, "Just forget about it. I know it doesn't make any sense. You don't have to believe anything that I say." Yet, somehow she did. Somehow, things seemed to click now that she knew the truth. He was hostile towards her because he was envious that she was with another guy, one that was only using her for his own selfish gain. But that made her wonder just how Dustin would treat her any differently.
Slowly, she crossed her arms and kept her eyes fixed on him, unwavering. "I asked for the truth because...it bugs me," she admitted quietly, softly. "Something seemed...off, and I sensed there was more to you than you were letting on. It was distracting me. I couldn't stop thinking about the things you said." Dustin paused and looked up at her, his eyes almost hopeful, yet also confused at the same time. Harley shrugged one shoulder and finally dropped her gaze as she continued, "If it makes you feel any better, what I have with Major Nox is purely business. I don't belong to him, even if I do share a bed with him. We aren't courting and I owe him no loyalty. We simply have a relationship built on bargains. We make deals, and we give each other something in return. That's all that it is."
"How is that supposed to make me feel any better?" Dustin interjected. "If you want to use him as a tool, then fine, go ahead. But that's not what you are. I couldn't care less about the Major and his feelings. What I care about is you and your feelings. I don't like that he uses you the way that he does, and I can't help but feel like you deserve better than what he's offering. You deserve something...real, and worth your time and effort. Not something that will only leave you feeling hollow and used in the end once it's over. Because that's exactly where you're headed."
Harley inclined her head in question, challenging him, "And, what, you can do better?" Dustin took a step closer until they were sharing breaths, his eyes locking with her own. "Yes, I can. I wouldn't treat you like a piece of meat that's only there to feed my appetite. I would give you everything, do anything for you. I would fight armies for you, and go to any length I had to just to make sure you lived a happy and satisfying life." He was such a romantic. She never knew that about him. "I would be loyal to you," he continued. "I would live for you, and I would die for you." That, she found hardest to believe. She knew he wouldn't feel that way if he knew the truth about her. About her ambitions and goals. But still, his words were enough to make her feel something fluttering in her stomach. She didn't know how to handle it. Romance was never in the card for her, and she was well aware that pursuing a relationship with anyone wasn't going to last. She belonged to the devil in the end, and when all was said and done, she was going to vanish into the devil's den. She wasn't going to survive long enough to pursue a relationship.
