Page 148 of Painted Truths

Sick fuck.

She steps closer, her head tilting questioningly as her eyes narrow in what I’m guessing is astute speculation.

“Have you noticed, Nate?”

She closes the distance with another bold step, then another, while I step backwards, my eyes never leaving her face.

She quirks a perfectly shaped brow, one side of her mouth drawing up in a smug, knowing smirk. I need to steer this conversation to safer waters sharp-ish!

I clear my throat, shrugging. “Henry has you all wrong, littlest DeMarco. You’re no Mouse.” I can’t stop my mouth from twitching with a threatening grin.

Her smirk blooms into a fully loaded smile, her eyes twinkling mischievously. “That so, Nathaniel?”

“It sure is. He can keep calling you Mouse, but we both know you’re not the prey.”

The words lay unspoken between us. Fierce, funny, tough, strong-as-fuck Mila DeMarco takes no nonsense from anyone, and woe betide if you hurt with someone she loves when there’s a loaded gun at hand.

“You’re the predator, Mila. A real Hellcat.”

A name I’ve kept to myself for years now, but I can’t help the small relief I feel at just speaking the word aloud.

Stepping forward, I link her arm with mine to escort her back to the festivities, optimistic that whatever sent her flying heedlessly into the darkened woods has passed, but she remains rooted to the spot. Unmoving.

“I slept with Simon.”

She turns her head to find my eyes blown wide, and a sick feeling settling in the pit of my stomach. I don’t know if I want to vomit or kill this fucking Simon—either way, I don’t like it.

Her eyes glisten with tears. “I just did it because everyone else—all my friends, I mean, had already had sex, you know? And the person I truly want… never mind. Anyway, it was absolutely awful, and the worst part was when he… finished—” I openly grimace, closing my eyes as though to block out this conversation I want no part of, before I nod for her to continue, knowing she needs to tell someone.

And a twisted part of me is rejoicing at being the person she goes to when she needs to talk.

“Well, he got up and… disposed of the… condom, but then he said, ‘We need to break up.’”

My jaw clenches so tightly that I think my teeth might just chip until the next words leave her mouth.

“He said he’s been sleeping with his best friend Erick and he’d only fucked me to make sure he wasn’t into girls.”

“Oh, Hellcat.” I gather her against my chest as she soaks my dress shirt with tears, her small frame shaking underneath my hold. I feel utterly incompetent, and it’s a feeling I’m not at all too keen on.

“Do you want me to kick his dumb ass, littlest DeMarco?”

She nods in my hold, still quivering. “Your wish,” I whisper our special words against the top of her head, and her body loosens slightly.

“Am I ugly, Nate?” Her words are muffled against my chest. “Am I such a turnoff to the opposite sex that I can make a man gay just by sleeping with him?”

Instinctively, I place my hands on either side of her head, tilting it back until my eyes meet hers.

“Hellcat, any man would be crazy not to want you.”

Her eyes drop to my lips and I’m unable to stop my tongue from darting out to wet them, her gaze fixed on the movement as her nostrils flare. Then, before I know what’s happening, she’s thrown her hands around my neck to pull me closer, planting her soft mouth firmly on mine.

My mind tells me to push her away immediately, to shut this the fuck down, but her mouth—it’s like nothing I’ve felt before. And I don’t want to damage her self-confidence any further than this fucking Simon already has, or at least that’s my excuse for what I do next.

Pulling Mila firmly against my chest, I tease her lips with my tongue, gently running the tip across her closed lips, probing, needing her to invite me inside. When I move my hand from her face down her body, along each lush curve to land on her tiny waist, she gasps and I’m ready and waiting.

Thrusting my tongue inside, I’m simultaneously stunned and assaulted by the taste of vanilla milkshakes as she purrs deeply inside her throat, her tongue tangling delightfully with mine.

My senses are alight, and I can’t help the thrill of sheer happiness that fills me from head to toe as a feeling more powerful than I’ve ever known permeates my entirety.