"Fuck, Ivy," he breathes against my mouth. "I've missed this. Missed you."
He kisses down my throat, teeth scraping against sensitive skin. His hand moves higher, thumb brushing the underside of my breast through my bra.
I arch into the touch, a moan escaping before I can stop it.
His fingers find my nipple, circling it through the fabric. Pleasure shoots straight to my core. I'm getting wet for him, my body remembering exactly how good he feels inside me.
"I want you," he growls against my neck. "Right here. Right now. I want to make you scream my name the way you used to."
The words snap something inside me back to reality.
Because I did scream his name. I trusted him with my body, my heart, and he threw it all away.
"No." I shove at his chest. He stumbles back. "We're not doing this."
"Ivy…"
"What the hell is going on out here?"
We turn to find Sloane standing in the doorway, eyes blazing. She takes in our disheveled appearances: my swollen lips, his rumpled shirt, the way we're both breathing hard.
"Are you kidding me right now?" She grabs my arm, pulling me toward her. "Get inside, now."
"Sloane, I just wanted…"
"Now, Ivy."
I let her pull me past the threshold, but I can't help looking back at Declan. He's still standing there, hand raised like he's reaching for something he can't quite touch.
"Don't come back," Sloane snaps at him before slamming the door in his face. She rounds on me, hands on her hips. "What were you thinking? Five minutes alone with him and you're making out in the hallway?"
"I don't know what I was thinking." I sink onto the couch, my whole body trembling. "I just... I needed..."
"You needed to remember why you left him in the first place." She sits beside me, voice softening. "Ivy, he destroyed you. You can't let him do it again."
"I know."
"Then why were you five seconds away from forgiving him?"
"I wasn't going to forgive him." But even as I say it, I'm not sure it's true. "I just... my body remembers him even when my brain knows better."
She pulls me against her side. "That's going to take time to fade, but you can't give in to it. You're stronger than this."
But I don’t believe her. Right now, I feel weak and desperate for a man that will only hurt me more.
"I should probably go to bed," I say eventually.
"Good idea. I'll make you some tea first."
"No, I'm fine. I need to be alone for a bit."
She studies my face, then nods slowly. "Okay. But I'm right here if you need me."
I escape to the guest bedroom, closing the door behind me. My reflection in the mirror shows my swollen lips, flushed cheeks, dilated pupils. I strip off my clothes mechanically, pulling on an old t-shirt. My skin feels too tight, too hot. Every nerve ending is screaming for something I can't have.
For him.
I climb into bed, but sleep is impossible. All I can think about is Declan's hands on my body, his mouth on my neck, the way he felt pressed against me.
