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He takes a few seconds to respond, but his hand spreads possessively acrossup to the hollow ofto pretend like it was an easy breakup It hasn’t been easy for her to know you’re here with ht now, soh that lad he cares how this is for her; it uy But really, he fked up so enormously, I don’t have the bandwidth to adry

"Yeah, I wouldn’t worry too ht" I push him ahen he reaches for rabsoose bu my skin "I don’t want this to be hard on either of you," he says in a deliberately patient voice, "and I know the way I’ve handled it was all wrong"

I closehum I feel at his firht of hi me down

"I followed you out of the apart to kiss my jaw "I know it isn’t my job to make sure she’s okay anymore But if what she feels for me is even a fraction of what I feel for you, I want to be careful with her heart, because I can’t iine what I would do if you left me"

It seems impossible that words alone couldin

He licks , "It would wreck row busy on ht, desperate sort of way Maybe to distract me, maybe to reassure hihs, bunching my skirt in his fist as he pulls it up over my hips

"Ansel" I warn, but even as I turn my head away from his lips, I tilt my pelvis into his touch My hands for reassurance

"Are you okay?" he asks, kissing ain, and not even when he her, eyes wide and careful as he kisses rowls, "I’ers slip beneath my underwear, I find the resolve to push his arm away

"You can’t fix this with sex"

He pulls back, eyes wide in confusion "What?"

I’ ry for the first time "If it calms you down, if it makes you feel better, then who the hell cares how it happens?" His cheeks bloo all this ti a way to be s are scary or new or just too fking surreal to process?"

I’ht It’s exactly e’ve been doing, and I do want to be pulled out of this h--whatever it is, I want it I want to stop talking about all of this I want hiive et to see now

"Fine Distract me," I dare hiet how mad I am"

It takes hiain, teeth grazing ainst the wall and I give in His hands return tomy shirt up and over my head before he works my skirt down my hips and into a puddle on the floor

But even as he cups h his teeth and whispering, "Tu es parfaite," I can’t touch him back with any sort of tenderness I feel punitive and selfish and still so angry The co sound fro ry looks like"

It’s a beat before the words bubble up, but when they co out, it doesn’t sound like irl who lets herself feel anger, who can punish I shove his chest hard, both palms flat to pectorals, and he stumbles back, lips parted and eyes ith thrill I push hie of the bed and he cru me stalk him, climb on him until rab a fistful of his hair

"I’ him back as he tries to push forward, to kiss me, lick ent "I know"

I lower my hips and hear a primitive cry tear from my throat as his openhis arht bands around rowls and satisfied in to rock and ride hi, but he’s letting ood but God, I want you in me so deep I feel you in my throat