His silence that still manages to relay his feelings.
A single look envelops me in the warmth of peace. Warmth of him.
He swallows audibly, eyes darting between mine with a quiet concern. His scent dizzying.
I can’t take it anymore. Something inside me just snaps.
Before I can think—before I can stop—I surge forward, grabbing the front of his cut and pulling him down to me.
My lips crash into his. The collision sends a jolt through me. Heat and frustration and something dangerously close to relief pouring out of me all at once.
For a brief second, he freezes.
When I part my lips, welcoming him, I feel it.
Because the arm circling my waist this time—the hand possessively cupping the back of my neck—
Carries the thorns I find hauntingly beautiful.
THIRTY-EIGHT
Ruin
A dream.
Yes. It has to be a dream. Or perhaps I’ve moved on from regular to tactile hallucinations.
Those soft hands I’ve yearned for are currently pulling me down by the back of my neck. Her supple body is so closely pressed against mine that I can’t recognize where I end and she begins.
My whole body is alight, trembling with something that feels less like need and more like love.
And God! Her lips. Even in my imagination—in this frenzied dream state—they feel so fucking real.
So I do what I’m helpless against. This instinct of devouring her is all that consumes me. My grip on her waist tightens as I swallow every single gasp of hers.
The hand that was resting hesitantly on the back of her neck is now wildly clutching at her hair. Enough that this apparition of Charlotte shivers in my arms.
Fuck, I wish this were real. The part of me that knows I don’t deserve this is urging me to snap out of this reverie.
But, please. Just one more second. One more desperate taste of hers and I’ll come back to reality.
Then I feel it.
Her tongue. Eager and confident, wanting to explore my mouth.
That’s when I lean back. Not because I’m scared. Because even in this hallucinating moment, I’d never imagined my daydreams would ever get this real.
One fucking look—and my whole world shatters.
Because she’s here. Lips swollen and bitten by… me.
My heart starts to thud loudly in my throat instead of my chest. I’m suddenly acutely aware of my hard cock currently pressing against her stomach. And she. Doesn’t. Mind.
“Ruin,” she breathes out, a panting mess.
Fuck. This is real.I just kissed Charlotte. My Charlotte.
I feel every muscle in my face twisting—crumpling into a pained, hopeless heap of longing. “This is real,” I whisper uselessly.
