Destroy Me (Crystal Gulf Book 1) (41 page)

BOOK: Destroy Me (Crystal Gulf Book 1)

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My guilt is mine and I’ll have to find a way to deal with it. “You will. One day you’ll meet someone that takes your breath away and she’ll give you everything you deserve.”

He rolls his eyes. “Eat my ass.”

“Nice to meet the real Dylan,” I point out. This is the Dylan Bach warned me about. All those times he insisted Dylan was the same as him, if not worse. Bach was right.

“Yeah, I’m an asshole, so what? So is Bach. So are you.”

“If you’re going to treat me like shit I’m not going to sit here and take it. I don’t feel bad for falling in love with Bach. Nothing will ever make me regret him. Not even you.”

“Harley, wait,” he begs.

I pause with my hand on the door and turn back to him. “What, Dylan?”

“Tell me the truth. The moment I left you with him it was over, wasn’t it? There was no hope that you’d, you know,
not
be a whore?”

I leave him there. Alone. With his lies. The way I always should have done.

But a part of me thanks him for leaving, for lying, and for breaking my heart. Because the pieces he left behind were the exact pieces Bach was looking for.

And damn it his pieces feel too damn good to ever question.

I wrap my hand around his and kiss him in the hall. “Let’s go.”

“Where are we going?” he wonders, but not wondering. Bach will go wherever I want him to go.

“Home. I don’t think our new bed is as broken in as you think.”

He laughs warmly, making me ache between my legs like only he can. “Babe, that shit was broken in the night we got it. But I’m all for breaking things.”

Afterwards, with our sweaty skin smeared on the sheets and our moans clinging to the walls, I roll over and look into his beautiful sea green eyes. “I love you, Bach Bachmen.”

He looks into mine and smiles shyly, but there’s nothing shy about the look in his gaze. “I love you too, Harley Evans.”

And together we love forever.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Destroy Me
isn’t my debut, but it is the first book where I ever heard the word “yes.” After writing endlessly for years and getting rejected for just as long, I wrote
Destroy Me
. It was a spark of inspiration, an idea that turned into Bach and Harley and the entire Crystal Gulf series.

When I queried I of course had faith, never lose faith, but I was scared I would have to make another folder full of rejections. I found Swoon Romance and decided to give it a try. And then I got that email from Georgia McBride with the offer. Suffice it to say, I felt like all the words I’d written finally meant something to someone other than me. I was an author, a writer, I was finally who I wanted to be.

Georgia said “yes” when no one else had. She took a chance on me. She saw
Destroy Me
when no one else did and I will be forever grateful for the chance she gave me.

Thank you, Georgia.

For Mom: You are my one person cheerleader. Dreams are beautiful, but they’re even more profound when someone else believes in them with you. Thank you for sharing my dreams and never giving up on me.

And for all of those who love apple pie as much as Bach!

SHANA VANTERPOOL

My name is Shana Vanterpool and every second not spent breathing is an opportunity to write and read. I live in Northern California with my family and dog, Bella. Escaping with a good book is something I live for. I write so others can escape too.

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