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Her eyes open and lock with mine. “Right. Better and better.”
“Which means we pay attention to that. We respect it, and we don’t let this shit go. We hold on tight.”
Her hand turns, abandoning her clit so her fingers curl around mine. She squeezes. “We hold tight.”
I grab her hips again and give a rough squeeze. “Be a good girl now and get on my face.”
?
My hand runs down Stevie’s back with a featherlight pressure. She’s lying on top of me and hasn’t moved since she collapsed minutes ago after wringing orgasms out of us both.
She was fucking glorious, riding me with abandon. Amazingly strong, especially since I’d just gotten her off with my mouth.
“Are you alive?” I ask her.
Stevie mumbles. “I’m not sure. I think I was definitely transported to an alternate dimension. Maybe I’m back. Who knows?”
Chuckling, I wrap my arms around her and press a kiss to the top of her head before rolling us to our sides. Her legs thread between mine, and her hand comes to press against my chest where my heart beats at a steady rate once again.
“Now is the time to tell me what’s been bothering you,” I say, breaking our mellow.
She jerks in my arms, pulling her head back to look at me. Her eyes are filled with both surprise and wariness. “What makes you think something’s wrong?”
I lean in and kiss the tip of her nose. “How could you not understand that I would know when something is wrong? You and I have spent a lot of intimate time together—both in and out of this bed. We’ve had dozens upon dozens of conversations. You’re a work of art, Stevie, so I study you. I watch your facial expressions and your posture. I memorize it all. I’m so fucking interested in everything about you that it’s more than obvious to me when something is off.”
The wariness dissipates, and her eyes soften. “I don’t know what I ever did to deserve a friend like you, but when I figure it out, I’m going to make sure payment is rendered.”
My lips quirk and an eyebrow lifts. “Friends? Do friends dole out explosive orgasms to each other?”
She smirks. “My friend does. His name is Hendrix Bateman, and he is the best lover I’ve ever had, shatters me with pleasure, and then puts me back together so very easily because he observes and notices every little detail about me and knows when something is wrong. Every woman should be so lucky as to have a friend like that.”
Putting my fingers under her chin, I make sure I’ve got her attention. “Okay, friend… tell me what’s wrong.”
Stevie shrugs and her gaze drifts to where her fingertips run circles around the center of my chest. “I really don’t want to discuss the specifics.”
“Don’t need the specifics. Tell me how you’re feeling.” Her eyes lift to mine, and I see the question: Are you for real? “Lay it on me. I am ready to absorb all the feelings.”
Stevie smiles sadly and lets out a heavy sigh. “It’s the same story of abandonment. I’ve been let down. Fragile trust has been broken. Loyalty that I expected wasn’t there. A chance at a relationship—maybe even love—it’s just burned to ashes.”
Not hard to figure out the source of her angst. “Your mom?”
“Yeah. I just don’t…” She goes silent, and I let her collect her thoughts. Her voice is clogged with emotion. “I don’t think my mom has the capacity to give me anything at all. Not even the barest hint of care.”
“I’m sorry, baby.” I gather her in close, hug her tight. “I know it hurts.”
Her breath fans across my chest. “What should I do?”
I think a moment, running through everything I know about Stevie and her troubled past with her mom. I don’t know the circumstances that led to this, but I hear the torment in her voice that she’s been hurt… yet again.
She’s asking if she should try harder. She’s asking me because she knows we share the same principled values of perseverance and effort. Hell, Stevie only went out with me because I worked hard at a failing relationship with Tracy, despite me knowing damn well she wasn’t the one for me.
“I think it’s time for you to let her go,” I finally conclude. “I think it’s time for you to stop caring about what might be.”
“Yeah,” she says softly. “I think you might be right.”
CHAPTER 20
Stevie
“This is definitely on the opposite side of the tracks from where I live,” I murmur in awe as we drive past Brienne Norcross’s mansion. It’s lit up with white lights and wreaths trimmed with silver bows in every window, all the bushes drenched in sparkling strings of bulbs. It might be the most magical thing I’ve ever seen.
Hendrix finds a spot a block down, and we walk to the house arm in arm, bundled against the cold. It’s time to make merry with the team and celebrate Christmas, Titans’ style.
