Page 28 of Aperture

“And you have no idea how long this resolution might take?” I wish he would be straightforward with me.

His jaw tenses again and he narrows his eyes, looking out into the night.

“I don’t and I fucking hate it.” He takes several deep breaths. “I won’t ask you to wait for me and I won’t get in your way with someone else.”

“Even if that someone else is Theo?” I ask, my patience ebbing away.

His hands grip the wheel to the point where his knuckles turn white.

“You should stay away from Theo, Millie. He is not a good guy.”

“That’s funny,” I reply. “Theo says the same thing about you.” It’s petty because Theo hasn’t said anything negative, but he did allude to Wyatt being involved with his girlfriend.

“What exactly does he say about me?” he presses.

“That I should stay away from you,” I answer, hoping to push his buttons. It’s immature, but his aloofness is getting on my nerves.

Wyatt suddenly makes a sharp left, kicking up dirt as he peels into a parking lot, shifts into neutral, and stares intensely at me.

“Look, Millie, I can’t stop you from seeing Theo, but I am sure as Hell not giving you my blessing. You should know that I will be there, keeping an eye on things.”

“Keeping an eye on things?” I ask, a deep frown forming. “What kind of crazy stalker shit is that? Either you want me, or you don’t. You don’t get a choice after that.”

“I told you how I feel. I warned you about him. If you choose to see him, it’s my job to look out for you,” he speaks slowly, enunciating every word.

“Your job?” I question. “You assume that I’m so clueless that I need a police escort to help me pick a date for Saturday night?” My hands are flying around animatedly as my voice gets louder.

“That’s not what I am saying. Listen to the words I’m saying,” he yells.

We are both breathing heavy at this point, trying not to say things we can’t take back. Before I can make another smart-ass remark, Wyatt grabs my face with his hands on either side of my face and kisses me hard. He kisses me with the intensity of the argument we just had, transferring the energy of his words into the kiss.

It’s passionate. It’s intense. It’s perfect.

He bites my lower lip, causing me to open my mouth and he takes advantage of it by sliding his tongue inside. I meet his tongue with my own and moan in pleasure as they tangle together and our teeth clash and bite. It’s raw and emotional, and somehow, us.

Suddenly, he pulls away, hands still on my face and my hands gripping his forearms, and then places his forehead on mine, trying to slow his breathing.

“We’re so good together,” I say softly, tilting my head back to meet his intense eyes. His pupils are blown out, and I can see he’s as turned on as I am, thanks to the gray sweats he’s wearing.

“Fuck,” he says softly. “I know we are. It’s just not the right time.”

Embarrassed, I pull back and straighten in my seat, looking to the right, outside the window, so he can’t see the tears threatening to fall.

“It’s fine, Wyatt. Just take me home.”

We drive twenty minutes back to my house in silence as I stare out the window in the dark and count down the seconds until I can put some physical distance between us.

When we get there, I jump out of the car before it’s barely stopped and head straight for the door.

“Millie!” I hear him call from behind me. I don’t want to talk about this anymore tonight. There’s nothing else to be said. I put the key in the lock when I feel Wyatt’s body behind me. He steps up until he’s wholly pressed against me, the hard planes of his body against the soft curves of my own.

“Millie,” he says softly. “Stop.”

I release the key from the lock and lean back into him, no longer craving distance. He places one hand on my hip and the other on my jaw, tilting my neck to the right and placing a soft open mouth kiss where my shoulder meets my neck.

I shiver, and my skin prickles with goosebumps, both hands falling to my sides in surrender. I can feel him smile against my skin, his warm breath on my neck, before he pulls my hair to the side and places those same open-mouth kisses up and down my neck. The hand gripping my jaw moves down to my throat, squeezing with firm pressure as he sucks and bites at my sensitive flesh.

I moan, surprising myself. Then he moves his hand to my lips and pushes his index finger into my mouth. I begin sucking on it instinctively.