She was fighting for her freedom. For her life.
She loves me now, and everything is out in the open.
And to her credit, she isn’t throwing my manipulation in my face like she could. And should.
Given all that, why am I breaking down this way?
If I didn’t know better, I’d think my psyche was trying to protect me from a deeper wound. Some other agony with the power to rip me in two.
It’s there, just in the distance. I could reach for it, but I’m...?scared.
Reaching into the depths, I channel my stubborn spirit to keep that cleansing mist at bay. Just barely.
My eyes spring open as Lila’s sudden movements yank me out of my anguished thoughts.
“Reed, look at me,” she urges gently, her tone overflowing with compassion.
The sound of raucous breathing fills the room. It’s mine.
I struggle to drag my vision from the safety of the ceiling.
Lila must grow impatient with my nonresponse. I finally face her when she rises from the couch and plants herself directly in front of me.
She motions toward my lap. “Permission to come aboard, captain?”
The unexpected and absurdly asked question smacks the existential crisis off my face, leaving room for a half grin.
I fucking love this woman.
Noticing my favorable reaction, she climbs onto my lap and straddles me with an easy confidence that’s sexy as hell. Her arms snake around my neck, settling at my nape.
My hands do whatever the fuck they want, landing on Lila’s supple thighs and curving to the lush cushion of her hips. I squeeze and caress her over her clothes. Wonder how pissed she’d be if I ripped them off?
Probably livid since it’s all she has at my place.
“Talk to me,” she urges. “I need to know where your head is.”
I grapple for the words before stammering out something response-adjacent. “I-well-we. I mean, I think we can get you a deal. If you agree to?—”
After an abrupt head shake, she silences me with a brief kiss. No tongue. Just a lingering peck. “Not that. What you’ll do with me from a legal standpoint can wait.”
Bewilderment stutters out of me in a rush. “What-huh-I. You just.” I blink free of the chaos and untie my tongue. “What do you mean? Isn’t that what you were asking?”
“No.” Her stern expression slips into sadness that I long to kiss away. “I was talking about the impetus of our dates and why I went along with the charade.That’swhat I wanted your thoughts on. I never took you for a hypocrite, and I wasn’t the only one with ulterior motives. So something else must be happening in here.” She taps my forehead.
With a sugary smile, she adds, “It looked like you were either going to pass out or flee the building. And I refuse to let you slip away without putting up a fight this time.”
“Oh. I see.” I pulse my hands around her hips, giving her an encouraging tug forward. “I’m not going anywhere, Lila. Don’t worry about that.”
A spark of hope shines in her eyes. “Really?”
“Of course. I meant every word I’ve said. You and me. That’s it. End of story. Nothing you’ve said changes that. And it never will.”
That spark widens, igniting into one of those blinding smiles that burns into my soul. “Okay.”
“Okay,” I echo, allowing her radiance to pull me the rest of the way from the darkness that threatens to consume me.
She shimmies on my lap to get more comfortable, the warmth of her core dragging over my crotch in the process. In this position, that tiny graze is all it takes to send blood racing into my cock.
