Page 110 of Quiet Obsession
“What’s wrong, baby?” I ask, holding the door open wider.
She enters, her lips part, but words don’t come.
Fuck, we’re back here again? Every time she swallows whatever she wants to say, I feel it chokingme. She takes a step forward, pulse thrumming on her neck, and the air moves, sending a whiff of her right into my nose.
Now this... this is what I’m definitely addicted to.
She brushes into my room, and just when I think she’ll rise on her tiptoes to whisper in my ear or kiss me, she shoves me back a step, and her hand lands on my cheek. The clap rings in my ears, my head whips to the side, skin burning.
Yeah... I deserved that.
I scramble for something to say. A plausible explanation for the question I texted, but before anything springs to mind, she’s on me, those perfect, heart-shaped lips pressing against mine.
My heart soars, drumming rapidly against my ribs and kicking me into action. The initial shock morphs and twists, desire slamming into me with the force of an H-bomb.
I grab her waist, the other hand on the back of her head and I pull her in, taking over before she can pull away, change her mind, or remember she’s supposed to be scared of me.
That’swhat I wanted to talk about. Not Noah.
Her lips part beneath mine, soft and desperate, and I slide my tongue into her mouth, groaning at the taste of her. I dig my fingers into her waist, checking that I’m not dreaming.
She comes in, slaps me, then kisses me, so I’m allowed to feel a little disoriented, but she’s real. Warm, so fucking perfect.
Untangling my fingers from her hair, I push her against the door, devouring that sweet mouth, my hands mapping her waist, ribs, back... I’ll never get enough of her.
She clings to me, her fingers bunching my hoodie, her hot breath uneven against my mouth, and my head’s spinning.
I gather enough restraint to break the kiss, though.
“I didn’t fuck him,” she snaps, pulling me in again.
“Wait, baby. This is important.” Grabbing her chin, I hold her in place. “At the gym, I asked you what you were scared of, and you didn’t answer. Every assumption I’ve made makes no sense now, so help me out here. What is it?”
Her fingers tighten in my hoodie, those hazel-blues searching mine as she chews her lip.
“You...” she whispers. “I’m scared becauseI want you, Eli, and you...” She pauses, gathering her courage. “You want me and then you don’t want me and I never know if you’ll pull me in or push me away. I need to know where I stand.”
My jaw tightens. If certainty is what she needs, then maybe she should’ve gone to Noah.
I’m torn between the need for her and the need to protect her from what I am. I ruin things. I take until there’s nothing left. I knew that long before she ever stood—brave but terrified—in front of me.
She knows that, too... and she didn’t go to Noah.
“I hope you’ve thought this through very carefully.” I drag my thumb over her bottom lip.
Her breath catches, her body leaning into my touch as if that’s answer enough. I move my hand to her throat, spreading my fingers wide, and she exhales softly, eyes searching mine.
This is what she wants.
I was convinced staying away equaled protecting her, but that’s the thing, isn’t it? She didn’t ask for protection, she came for the darkest parts of me, those I pretend don’t exist while marveling whenever they’re let loose.
The partsshedug out after I kept them buried for almost a year. She dug them the fuck out with her presence alone and I spent weeks trying to suffocate them before they ruined her the way they ruin everything else.
“You’re sure you want this?” I ask, tightening my grip around her slender neck. “You wantme, Millie Baby?”
She nods, unblinking, and a sick thrill rushes down my spine.
I know it’s temporary, I know she’ll leave, but for now, the monster inside me stops fighting. She’s made her choice and I’m too selfish to stop her.
