I’m on my feet so fast, the boat shed spins, and I have to lean on the workbench along the wall.
“Don’t call me that.” My voice is raw. Hearing it from him stings when he’s the only person who ever saw past that. “You know that’s not true!”
“I don’t know anymore, Jackie. I thought I did…But your little revelation has me questioning everything.”
A dry laugh crawls out of me. “You’re one to talk about lying.”
Adam straightens, stepping into the boathouse. “You’re so…Argh!” He exhales sharply, pulling at his hair. In two strides,we’re face to face, so close I can see his features twist, his mouth a hard line.
“I’m what?” I push at his chest, but he’s rooted to the spot. “Say it.”
His eyes are blazing, anger pouring out in waves. “Fucking infuriating.”
“Me?” I feel out of control, my skin vibrating with fury. “How about you admit you loved the attention? God knows what you did with those women. All while you were dangling promises about afuture…”
I’d been incredibly stupid. Ready to stand up to my family and tell everyone about him. Then I found out he was full of lies.
Adam’s head jerks back. “If you genuinely think that…” His voice hardens. “Maybe they’re right about you. You’re not as bright as you think you are.”
“Shut up!” My hands fly to his chest, shoving him again until he grabs my wrists and pulls me close.
“Can’t handle the truth?” He leans over me, his breath ghosting my lips.
We’re standing toe to toe, panting, but his gaze drops to my mouth. I’m coming undone, my restraint crumbling.
If I don’t put some distance between us, I might do something I can’t take back.
“The truth?” I gasp. “The truth is, I never want to see you again.”
Instead of stepping back, he smirks, clicking his tongue. “Misbehaving brat.” He inches closer, and I almost forget what we’re fighting about. “You shouldn’t tell lies.”
The shift in his tone slithers over me, setting me on fire. It’s low, dangerous, and full of promises that shouldn’t make my core throb.
But my body doesn’t know the difference between warning and want.
“What? Are you going to punish me?”
A sound of agreement rumbles in his throat. “That’s all I’ve been dreaming about,” he says, brushing the tip of his nose against mine. “For eight years. Ruining you. Making you beg for me.”
And I fucking want it all. Anything to feel his hands on me again. One last time. I wish I had the strength to hold on to hate. I should. But letting him break me apart feels so right in this moment.
If everything hurts anyway, I want to be the one who chooses how.
I know what I’m asking for. There’s no hesitation. “Then do it.”
Adam’s mouth crushes mine the instant the words are out. My ears ring, pulse hammering. It’s heaven and hell clashing in one breathless second.
At first, the kiss is hard. All his frustration pressed into every touch, until it sweetens into a quiet surrender. His mouth moves against mine with a slow, deliberate drag, catching on my lower lip, tugging it.
I kiss him without a second thought, needing to taste him. To feel the burn of his mouth.
He’s demanding and overpowering, devouring my every breath.
My skin is ablaze, every lingering doubt burned to a crisp.
When my lips part for him, he takes more without hesitation. Tongue sliding over mine, caressing and greedy. His hands leave my wrists and come up to cradle my face, holding me there, anchoring me.
Kissing him is like drinking sweet wine on an empty stomach; it rushes straight to my head. My knees threaten to buckle. I clutch his shirt, holding on to him. Desperate for more.
