“Are you still on your period?” he asks, and I nod. He makes a face, and then shakes his head, sliding a condom from the pocket of his blazer. Why am I not surprised to see that he brought one with him? “Maxx got some milestones that I wanted.” Chasm points at me. “I want to be the first person to go down on you.”
My cheeks flush, and I flick my tongue against the corner of my mouth in thought.
“Should I return the favor?” I ask, and Chasm shudders.
“Don’t tease me like that,” he whispers, undoing his slacks. My eyes trail down, watching as he frees himself and slides the condom on, chucking the wrapper into the metal trash can embedded in the wall to his left. He steps close to me, pressing our bodies together but not entering me. “If we find Parrish today, I know this is all over between us.”
His voice is a dark whisper, too melancholy for me to not be impacted by it.
My heart aches, and I throw my arms around his neck, pressing my face into the warm hollow between his neck and shoulder.
Don’t get me wrong: I would literally cut my pinkie off if it meant saving Parrish right now.
But that doesn’t mean I won’t miss Chasm. That I’ll always miss Chasm. And Maxx …
Nope. Can’t think about that part. This is bad enough.
“But just in case we have the time or whatever,” Chasm adds, exhaling and making my hair flutter. He pulls back and grabs my face between his hands. “I was so jealous of Maxx that I spent the time waiting for your call throwing up. My stomach wouldn’t settle; I paced; I couldn’t sleep.”
My heart softens and I reach up, wrapping my hands over his and staring into his eyes.
This is goodbye sex? Maybe. I mean … hopefully? Because I want to find Parrish today. I believe we can. Meeting Justin gave me a lot of insight into his motives. He wants me to like him; he truly has set up a game that I can win.
“I’m so sorry, Kwang-seon,” I tell him, but he just shakes his head, sliding his fingers into my hair and pressing his mouth to mine. Softly at first, but with increasing intensity, until his tongue is delving between my lips and commanding my own.
Our pelvises move together, but he stays pressed flush against the outside of me. The feel of him is maddening; I need that sensation of us coming together.
Instead, he takes his time, sliding his hand up and under my shirt. Rather than taking my bra off, he yanks the cup down and massages my breast with strong fingers. His thumb grazes my nipple, and I gasp, the sound lost between our slanted lips.
“Want to learn something in Korean?” he asks me, and then he tips his mouth to my ear and murmurs a phrase that has my entire body rippling with pleasure. I don’t know what it means, exactly, but then he laughs, his lips still pressed to my ear. Chasm flicks his tongue out and traces the shell of it, making me writhe against him some more in need. “Want to know what it means?”
“I do,” I breathe, and he runs his tongue down the side of my neck.
“It means: I want you so bad that it isn’t even want anymore; it’s need.”
Chasm reaches between us, adjusting himself so that he’s at my opening. He locks eyes with me as he pushes my panties aside and slides in, making my toes curl the same way they did last night.
“Mm.” He makes that sound, and it kills me. It isn’t English or Korean, just male. The sound of it makes me thrust my hips forward, bringing us closer together. “Naekkeo,” he mutters obstinately, and then he puts his mouth against the side of my throat, right over my pulse.
When I first saw Kwang-seon McKenna crouched at the side of the pool that day, I thought he looked like a hot vampire in a romance novel. Now, he does his best to prove to me that he’s willing to play along, biting me just hard enough that I gasp, digging my fingers into his back.
He bites and sucks me in a way that I know is going to leave massive red-purple marks on my neck, and yet, I don’t care. I know what he’s doing. He wants Parrish back just as much as I do. Possibly more. I mean, I can’t imagine missing him more than I do, but they’ve known each other for so long.
But also, Chasm is marking me.
No doubt about that.
I decide to do the same to him, tearing his dress shirt away from his skin so I can slide my hands up his back, dig my nails into his inked skin, and then drag them back down. He growls against my skin, and then bites me just a bit harder. So I dig my nails in deeper to compensate.
