I collapse against her, my chest heaving, my heart hammering a frantic beat against hers.I don't move to pull out.I can't.I just wrap my arms around her, holding her so tight I'm probably bruising her, burying my face in the familiar scent of her hair.
She strokes a hand back and forth down my bare back, her breathing just as ragged as mine.She presses a soft kiss to my neck.And for the first time in ten years, I finally feel like I’m home.
And as we both float back to earth, chests heaving, her head on my chest, neither of us speaks.We don’t need to.Because this, this was always inevitable.
Chapter Sixteen
Hayden
I’m The Sinner
Jared Benjamin
My forehead rests against hers while we both catch our breath, the room quiet except for the sound of uneven breathing and the distant muted bass line drifting through the floor from upstairs.
Vanessa’s fingers move lazily through my hair.They drag through slow and absent-mindedly, but intimate enough to crack something open in my chest.I lift my head just enough to look at her.Her lips are swollen from kissing me.Her copper hair spills across the dark sheets beneath her.And her entire body looks soft and boneless from what we just did together.
The fact that I get to touch her again still doesn’t feel entirely real.A quiet laugh slips from her unexpectedly, her fingertips tracing down the side of my face.
“What?”My brow furrowing.
“You’re staring.”
“I missed you.”The words leave before I can stop them.Too honest.Too raw.
Vanessa’s expression shifts to something softer as her hand stills against my jaw.“I missed you too.”
God.I close my eyes briefly because hearing her actually say it almost hurts.When I look at her again, her mouth curves slightly as one brow arches.“So?”
“So what?”
“Am I better now than ten years ago?”Her cheeks flush the lightest color of pink.
A rough laugh escapes me, my head dropping toward her shoulder.“That feels like a dangerous question.”
“And yet I asked it anyway.”
I drag my gaze back to hers.“It’s not even close.”
The teasing light in her expression fades at the honesty in my voice.
“Back then,” I shake my head once.“We were obsessed with each other.This feels different.”
“How?”She slides a hand over my chest, her chin resting against the back of it as she props herself up to look at up at me.
I study her for a second before answering.“Back then wanting you felt closer to obsession.”My fingertips trace along the curve of her hip beneath the sheets.“Now it feels like we both chose this.Chose to share this together.”
Silence settles heavily between us again.Not awkward.Just honest.Vanessa exhales softly, her gaze drifting toward the ceiling before returning to me.“This should probably terrify me more than it does.”
“It terrifies me.”I admit, surprising myself.
That earns me a small smile, and it causes the mood to shift into something more real and serious.I roll onto my side beside her, one arm tucking beneath my head while the other stays draped loosely across her waist.Vanessa traces idle circles against my chest for a long moment before speaking again.
“Okay.”
I glance toward her.“Okay?”
“If we’re going to try to do this, then we need to actually talk about it.”
