Book 1 - Page 43 (1/2)
But she cut me off. “I’ve never done anything close to this and I don’t know how to navigate it anymore,” she said, her voice getting louder with each word. “But when I’m with you, it’s like nothing else matters. This . . . this thing,” she continued, gesturing between us, “this isn’t me! It’s like I turn into a different person when I’m with you, and I hate it. I can’t do it, Bennett. I don’t like who I’m becoming. I work hard. I care about my job. I’m smart. None of that would matter if people knew what was happening between us. Go find someone else.”
“I already told you, I haven’t been with anyone since we started this.”
“That doesn’t mean you won’t take a room key if it’s put in your hand. What would you have done if I hadn’t been there?”
Without hesitation, I said, “Handed it back.”
But she just laughed, clearly disbelieving. “Look. This whole thing exhausts me right now. I just want to take a shower and go to bed.”
It was nearly impossible to imagine walking away from her and leaving this unresolved, but she’d already moved away and was turning on the shower. Just as I reached the door to the hall, I glanced back to where she stood, already surrounded by steam, watching me leave. And f**k if she didn’t look as conflicted as I felt.
Without thinking I crossed the room, gripped her face between my hands, and pulled her to me. When our lips met, she made a strangled sound of surrender, immediately digging her hands into my hair. I kissed her harder, claiming her sounds as my own, making her lips mine, her taste all mine.
“Let’s call a truce for one night,” I said, pressing three small kisses on her lips, one on each side and a lingering one in the middle, in the heart of her mouth “Give me all of you for one night, no holding back. Please, Chloe, I’ll leave you alone after that but I haven’t seen you in almost two weeks and . . . I just need tonight.”
She stared at me for several painful beats, clearly struggling. And then, with a quiet, pleading sound, she reached up and pulled me to her, standing on her toes to get as close as she could.
My lips were rough and unyielding but she didn’t move away, pressing her curves into me. I was lost to everything but her. We b.u.mped into a wall, the counter, the shower door, s.h.i.+fting and pulling in our desperation. The room was completely filled with steam now, and nothing seemed real. I could smell, taste, and feel her, but none of it was enough.
Our kisses grew deeper, our touches wilder. I grabbed her a.s.s, her thighs, slid my hands up and over her br**sts, needing every part of her in my palms simultaneously. She pushed me back against the wall and a rush of warmth cascaded across my shoulder and down my chest, bringing me out of my haze. With our clothes still on, we had backed into the shower. We were getting soaked.
We didn’t care.
Her hands roamed my body frantically, yanking my s.h.i.+rt from my pants. With shaky hands she unb.u.t.toned it, tearing off some b.u.t.tons in her haste before sliding the wet fabric from my shoulders and tossing it outside the shower door.