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“Say it. Tell me you’re mine.”
“Don’t do this,” she cries as I slide inside her. Her body bucks up. She loses her breath. Her eyes slide shut again.
I take hold of her chin and force her stare back. “At least for the summer, Harlow. Give me that much.”
“You said we’d take it one day at a time,” she pushes back breathlessly.
“And we will. But I need a little more now than you’re giving me, baby. Try.”
She circles her hips into my next thrust with a wail. I feel her tightening. She’s getting close. It’s dirty pool to press her for more when most of her thoughts are wrapped up in pleasure, but I need her raw. I need her to admit this is more than just fucking.
“Stop pushing me.” She shoves at my chest and catches me off guard.
I grab her wrists and hold them to the mattress, opening her to me. “Don’t panic… I’m not pushing, baby. I won’t ever hurt you. I just want more of you. I’ll go slow. I’ll be easy. Relax.”
Even as I say the words, I know I’ve pushed my luck as far as I dare tonight. Disappointment is bitter, but I need to back down before she shoves me away altogether. Retreat feels like defeat, but I can’t force her to share more than her body with me. It burns, but I’m going to have to be patient.
I reinforce my words with a glide down her body and a thumb across her swollen clit. She jolts and keens out, back arching. Her gaze bounces up to mine again, fusing us together as I pound my way inside her body—deeper, harder, faster.
“Noah!”
The sensual distress in her voice lights a new fire inside me. We have all summer. I’ll reach her. I’m stubborn like that. Once she drops her defenses, she’ll prove to me that she’s feeling more than pleasure, too. But for now, I’ll give her what she wants and needs and hope it’s enough to bring her back for more.
“I’m here,” I assure her. “Come for me.”
Under me, she writhes and clamps down, her breathing choppy and interrupted. Then she lets out a scream that rings in my ears and squeezes all control from my cock. I can’t help it; I follow her into a rocket-launchers-and-fireworks sort of bliss.
When it’s over and she’s panting beside me, I risk a glance her way. She’s staring at the ceiling, face flushed. “For the record, I don’t belong to anyone.”
Before I can think of something to ease her fears, she disappears into the bathroom, shutting the door between us.
“Fuck,” I mutter.
What is it with this woman? I have guesses, but I don’t know for sure. She has deep scars on her heart, not from Simon Butler, but from something I don’t understand. I’m almost looking forward to dinner with her brothers tomorrow night. Almost. If I can keep all my dubious conversational abilities from floundering, I might just get some answers.
When Harlow emerges from the bathroom a moment later, I’m waiting at the door. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“I know.” She sighs. “I panic and… I’m just not ready for more.”
She’s too afraid to even consider it. “Maybe I’m not ready for less.”
A frown furrows her brow. “I need to think.”
With that, Harlow slips out of my grip and out of my bedroom. Reluctantly, I let her go. If I keep pushing, I’m only going to shove her out the door. Maybe I should stop trying to invest in a woman with more defenses than a military base.
Maybe…but I think it’s too late.
With a curse, I hop in the shower to rinse off. I’ve never had a problem getting a woman. I’ve never wanted to keep one, so this problem is totally new. I have to figure out what it’s going to take to persuade her I’m on her side. A tough gig if she won’t open up enough to tell me why she’s hurting.
After I towel off and head into the bedroom, I’m hoping I’ll find her in my room, curled up in my bed. Every night, she pretends to fall asleep next to me. But she never does. Intimacy avoidance? Probably.
Tonight she’s nowhere to be found.
I toss on a pair of shorts and head down the hall. Her bedroom door is cracked, and the lamp on her nightstand puts off a small circle of golden light. It’s enough to illuminate the buds stuck in her ears and tears falling down her cheeks. She clutches a CD case to her chest, eyes closed. A pang racks my chest. The sadness on her face is killing me.
I stare as she finally makes her way under the covers and turns out the light. I can barely make out her shape as she sets the CD case down, rolls to her side, and drifts off a few minutes later.
I wait, watching Harlow until I’m sure she’s crashed before I creep into her room and gently extract the buds from her ears. She doesn’t protest. She doesn’t stir at all.
