Nico's jaw tightens. He pulls back, giving me space, but his eyes stay locked on mine.
"That's not it."
Damn him.
"It is."
"You're lying." He sits up on the edge of the bed. His voice is calm now. Controlled. "Tell me the real reason."
I wrap my arms around myself. A shield. Pathetic, but it's all I have.
"I just... I'm not sure I want to have sex with you."
The words hang in the air between us.
"What the fuck does that mean?"
"It means?—"
"Why can't you have sex with me?" He stands abruptly. Runs a hand through his hair. "You kissed me back. You moaned into my mouth.So what changed in the last thirty seconds?"
My face burns. "Nico?—"
"Explain it to me. Because I don't understand."
I open my mouth. Close it.
How do I tell him the truth? How do I explain that I rarely orgasmed and eventually stopped trying? That sex became something I endured, not enjoyed?
How do I explain that a man like Nico—a man who probably has women throwing themselves at him, women who know what they're doing, women who are fire in bed—would be disappointed by me?
I'm not fire. I'm barely a spark.
"I can't," I whisper.
"Can't what? Explain."
Nico stares at me. His dark eyes bore into mine with an intensity that makes me want to hide. He's reading me. I can feel it. Peeling back layers I didn't give him permission to touch.
Then his expression changes.
Understanding dawns on his face. And with it, something that looks terrifyingly like fury.
"He told you that you were bad at it."
Not a question.
My throat closes up.
"Didn't he?" Nico's voice drops. Dangerous. "That piece of shit told you that you weren't good enough." He stops. Breathes. His hands clench into fists at his sides.
"Nico—"
"No." He moves toward me. Not touching, but close enough that I have to tilt my head back to meet his eyes. "Listen to me very carefully, Kristen. The only thing stopping me from being balls deep inside you right now is your daughter."
Heat floods my face. My chest. Lower.
"You're fucking hot," he continues, his voice rough. "Your body. Your face. The sounds you make when I kiss you. All of it.And you're going to believe that soon, because I'm going to prove it to you."
