Page 79 of Rock Me

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Jez

She said it. She said the words, and I can't ignore them now. She's taken. She can't be mine. All this dreaming and hoping, has come to nothing.

I can't have her and I’ll have to live with it.

It's a good thing I'm leaving. Because I don't think I could handle having her two doors down, and knowing that I can't do anything about it.

"Jez, I'm sorry," she says, her hand against my arm.

I turn to her and she takes a step back, pulling her hand away.

She looks at me, her eyes filled with longing. I know she wants me. Boyfriend or not, she wants me just as much as I want her. Crave her. Desire her. Burn for her.

To hell with it.

I grab her by the forearm, ignoring the pain in my hand and pull her to me. Her eyes widen, and flood with heat. See? She wants me. Me.

I know she does. Her body tells me, her eyes tell me. Her music tells me.

She plays for me and only me. I take a step forward, pressing myself against her and almost every part of our bodies is touching.

Her legs against mine. Her stomach against mine. Her chest against mine. I let go of her arm and slide my hand up around her back.

"Forgive me.” I say again. “I’ll regret this for the rest of my life if I don't do it."

And I kiss her.

I press my lips against her so hard her teeth grazes against my mouth and the sting of my lip thrills me. I feel her arms reach up behind me and grip the fabric of my T-shirt as she melts into the kiss.

God, I want her so much, it's like a sweet cyanide running through my body. Delicious and dangerous. Deadly. My tongue slips into her mouth and she tastes like wild berries. Her tongue soft and warm against mine.

"God, Noémie," I hear myself moan her name and she sigh against my mouth before our lips find each other's again and we kiss.

We kiss so long my lungs are empty and I pull apart only in the pure need for breath.

Our mouth disengage, but our bodies are still pressed against each other’s, fusing into one.

"Jez," she whispers, her hand coming up to touch my face.

Her lips are plump, almost bruised from my kiss and I run my thumb along them.

"Sweet Noémie," I say. And I want to say so much more, but I can't.

She looks at me, her chest rising and falling as she gasps for breath. She looks like everything I've ever wanted and didn't know I needed. And she's here with me. Everything is perfect.

I pull away, lean over and press a soft kiss to her lips and whisper what I came here to say.

"Goodbye, Noémie. Take care."

And I turn and walk to my room.

Never turning back.

Never looking back.