Page 41 of Scar Tissue

I kick off my boots and socks, followed by my pants beforepulling on a pair of gray sweatpants. Just as I’m pulling my shirt off to change into a clean one, the bathroom door opens and Thea emerges wearing short sleep shorts and a tank top, her hair wrapped in a towel. “Let’s get this—” Her eyes widen as she chokes on her words before clearing her throat. “Talk.”

Dropping the shirt in the pile with the rest of my discarded clothes, I sit on the edge of the bed. “Come over here.”

But she shakes her head and I know what’s keeping her rooted to the spot. “It isn’t like you haven’t seen me without a shirt before.”

“That’s not the problem,” she snaps.

“No?” I raise an eyebrow.

She shakes her head again. “No. I just don’t plan on sticking around long.”

We both know it’s bullshit and I’m determined to call her bluff, so I stand up and walk toward her, my gaze never leaving her own. She backs up until her back hits the door behind her and I cage her in with both of my hands around her head. “Come sit down, Thea.” My voice is gravelly and I don’t miss the way her chest begins to rise and fall with rapid succession.

She exhales sharply as her hands clench and unclench at her sides. “I came here to talk.”

“So talk.” I keep my hands where they are. If she won’t sit down, then we can do it right here.

She groans as she drops her head back against the door. “You’re so…Ugh.”

I lean in further, enough so she can feel my breath on her skin. “We’re not here to talk about me, sugar.”

“Don’t call me that.” But the way she says it doesn’t give off the bite I know she was seeking. Instead, it comes off as a whisper.

I finally push off the door, sweeping my arm out in front of me. “Come sit down, Thea. I won’t bite.”

She mutters under her breath as she stomps toward the bed and I’m just barely able to catch her words as she says, “That’s a damn lie.”

When she sits down on the edge, I lean against the wall across from her and cross my arms.

“Don’t look at me like that, either.”

“Like what?” I scan her form and I wish that she could see herself through my eyes, how unbelievably stunning she is.

“You know what.”

I put my hands up in front of me, feigning innocence. “I don’t.”

She scoffs, rolling her eyes, but I don’t miss the way her hands grip the comforter as though she needs something to hold onto. “Like you have ulterior motives for inviting me back to your room—I’m really not in the mood for it.”

I step off the wall and walk toward her until I’m standing above her, our legs touching. “I think,” I say, tilting my head, “you’re trying to convince yourself that I do. And I think you’re trying to convince yourself that evenifI did, that you don’t want it. That you truly don’t want to be here.”

And I know I’ve got her when she doesn’t deny it. I don’t miss the way her breath hitches when I quickly leave her space, returning to the wall. “What did they do to you in there?”

Her eyes blaze at me, a hint of lust mixed in with her frustration. “Do you really want to hear about it?”

“When have I ever asked about something I didn’t want to know?”

“How would you react if I told you how their hands felt on my lower back, just barely grazing the swell of my ass? Or would you rather hear about how I had to smile and laugh when one of them pulled me down onto their lap, and how I could feel his erection press into me? Or maybe I should tell you how that same man’s hand slid along my thigh until he was dangerously close to grazing my pussy? Is that what you want to hear? How I had to pretend to like it when really all I wanted to do was throw up? How even with my shower I can feel their hands all over me? You think I don’t know what went through their minds every second I was in their presence? You think I don’t know what you’re thinking at this very moment?That you should’ve done something?” She barks a bitter laugh. “Well, guess what, Nathan? I know what I was signing up for, and I handled it. It doesn’t matter how much I wished to be anywhere else or that hell, maybe you would come bursting through the door at any moment. But you couldn’t, and I have to deal with the consequences of what I signed up for because the odds are that much greater.”

My jaw clenches and I’m sure steam is coming out of my ears as I let each of her words soak into my psyche.

She stands up and walks closer to me until we’re only a few paces apart. “What? Nothing to say?”

“Careful, Thea,” I growl as I grapple with getting a hold of my emotions.

Her eyes flicker with exhaustion and defiance as she challenges me. “Careful of what, exactly? Of your anger? Your guilt? I don’t need it. This isn’t your fault, but it doesn’t mean I won’t need time to process it. And the last thing I want is your fucking pity over a decisionImade.”

My resolve snaps and I close the distance between us in a stride before I seal our lips together. The way she instantly melts into me tells me she was waiting for me to make the move, despite the way her words contradict her. I wrap one arm around her back as my other hand pulls the towel from her hair, wrapping it around my fist and pulling her head back for better access. I groan into her mouth as she parts my own with her tongue and I savor her taste. When one of her own hands brushes against my V, I can feel her smile at the way I tense.She better not be fucking teasing me.