I’m desperate to smell her again. The scent was too faint last time—there but not entirely. I want the unfiltered, unadulterated version.
I don’t just want it.
Ineedit.
CHAPTER 18
TERINA
Present
I didn’t stop.
I didn’t stop even though DiAngelo was watching.
Even though he knew I was masturbating in his bed.
And the craziest part is how unbothered I am. The tranquilizing effects of my cataclysmic orgasm have infused me with calm when I should be freaking out. I should be embarrassed, outraged, apologetic, or maybe even all three.
I’m none of those despite being trapped in his feral stare as he stalks closer.
The same enchantment keeps me silent. Transfixed. In part because he seems to be locked in this same magical web.
Golden eyes glint despite the darkness, as though the fire in him burns too bright to be contained. Embers sparking in the ash.
My lungs hitch on a breath when he reaches the bed, towering over me.
“Give me your hand.” A murmur has never managed such authority.
Questions fill my mind, but my body obeys blindly. I watch breathlessly as my brother’s best friend—the man who has been forced to babysit me—carefully sucks two of my fingers deep into his mouth. When his tongue laves against my skin, my core shivers with renewed hunger because he isn’t simply tasting; he’s devouring.
Savoring.
DiAngelo Farina is ravenous for me, and I am stunned speechless. This man’s irritation, where I’m concerned, knows no bounds. I was certain of that. But now?
I have no idea what’s happening.
I’m not about to delude myself into thinking there’s anything more to it than a moment of lust, but it still shocks me. What was he even doing in here in the first place? Why keep watching when he realized what I was doing?
Regardless of the answer, his participation wipes away any embarrassment I might have felt and replaces it with stunned curiosity.
I watch raptly as he retracts my fingers from between his full lips.
What will he do next? Will I allow him to take it further?
“Touch yourself again in my bed, and I’ll take it as an invitation.” He releases my hand, then walks out of the room as though nothing ever happened, while I shiver from the arctic chill that descends in his absence.
It’s the perfect reminder of what can happen if I lose my head and let someone in because I know that empty sense of loss all too well. While this instance is only momentary, I know how much worse it can get. I’ve lived in the unending arctic tundra of grief, and I never want to go back there again.
CHAPTER 19
TERINA
Past
I pushthe food around my plate, my mind too distracted for an appetite. Last week was my first anniversary with Craig. Not only did he not have a secret getaway planned six months ago but he also forgot the date entirely.
I cried myself to sleep that night. Alone. It wasn’t the first time.
