“That’s dangerous, Lolo,” I warn.
“I don’t scare easy,” she murmurs. “You should know that by now.”
Her words hit deep in a place that I didn’t know existed.
Shifting, I roll her beneath me, careful not to crush her. Her hands slide up my arms, gripping lightly, pulling me down to kiss her again. And this kiss… it’s full of all the things neither of us is brave enough to say out loud.
“Talk to me,” she says between kisses. “The real stuff. While we’re here. While it’s just us.”
I exhale against her mouth, forehead touching hers. “I didn’t think I’d feel anything like this.”
“Like what?” she asks softly, fingers trailing down my spine.
“Like I’m not broken beyond fixing.”
Her lips brush mine in a slow, aching kiss. “You’re not broken. You just walked through hell and came out on the other side.”
“Feels like I brought it with me,” I say.
She shakes her head, one hand sliding up to my cheek. “Then let’s face it together.”
The rest of the night unfolds in quiet touches, rough breaths, and murmured truths. I kiss the hollow of her throat, her soft sounds hitting places I thought were dead. We move slow, exploring each other like it’s the first time either of us has been touched right.
I’ve fucked women without knowing their names. Got lost in them, trying to chase my demons aways. But this is different.
It’s intimate.
It’s gritty.
It’s real.
There’s no rush, no pretending. Just two wrecked souls trying to find something solid in the dark.
Her smile is trouble… slow, wicked, and aimed straight at the part of me I keep barricaded. And somehow, instead of dragging up the shit that usually claws at my skull, everything goes quiet.
The demons that circle me… the memories… the blood I can’t wash off… all of it hovers at the edge, waiting for the chance to drag me under.
But she’s here.
Warm. Soft. Wanting me.
Looking at me like I’m not the monster I’ve spent years becoming.
Maybe she’ll wake up tomorrow and tell me this was her grief… a moment she shouldn’t have let happen. Maybe she’ll put those walls back up and pretend none of this meant a damn thing.
But right now?
Right now, her hands on me, her mouth against mine, her voice whispering my name like it belongs to her…
Yeah. I’ll take the hit.
I’ll take the fallout.
Because for the first time in a long, ugly stretch of my life, the demons aren’t driving.
I am.
SEVENTEEN
