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“Want me to sit with you?”
I pulled the covers back and slipped beneath them but held them open for him. It was a small bed, but I couldn’t imagine sleeping without him next to me. We hadn’t so much as kissed since Friday morning, and just the thought of his lips pressed against mine sent a thrill through me.
It wasn’t right that I was thinking about him naked after what had happened, but maybe my brain was trying to protect me from the evil that had surrounded me.
“Belle…”
“Get into bed with me,” I demanded, my voice coming out breathy, and at my words, his eyes flashed. He knew what I wanted. He knew what I needed. The question was whether he was going to give it to me or not.
Ford stared down at me, his nostrils flaring, an obvious war waging through him. But eventually, he shucked his boots off, flicked the lock on the door, and slid into bed with me. His hand gripped my waist as he maneuvered me half on top of him and half on the bed.
“Make me forget,” I whispered, so close to his lips, all it would take was a tiny movement to touch them.
“Sweetheart—”
“I don’t need to talk,” I told him, reaching for his jeans and undoing the button and zipper. “I just need this. You. I need you to show me how you feel.”
He groaned as I slipped my hand beneath his jeans and boxer briefs, and one touch of his cock was all he needed to slam his lips down onto mine and roll me over so he was on top. He took control of the kiss. He dominated the position of my body. And within seconds, we were both naked, and he was pushing inside me, making me forget everything that had happened and promising to make it all better again.
Only he couldn’t.
He couldn’t bring them back.
He couldn’t change the past.
But he could make the future better. And I clung on to that thought in the same way I clung on to Ford as he surrounded every inch of me and reminded me exactly why it would always be him.
Chapter Sixteen
FORD
Her breath fanned across my face as she slept. The morning sunlight streamed through the window, showcasing the dust floating in the air. She seemed peaceful as she slept, but I knew it wouldn’t last. As soon as she opened her eyes, she’d remember what had happened, and she’d slip into the darkness of her mind.
I cataloged each one of her features and committed them to memory. I relished in the way her body felt against mine and tried to store the feeling away. I watched her. I stared at her. I tried to make an excuse as to why I had to stay. But there wasn’t one.
Belle was safe now—at least, as safe as she could be. And I had to go home. I had to go back to my life and try and forget what had happened between us.
I’d spent one last night with her. One night where I showed her exactly what she meant to me, but in the grand scheme of things, it was nothing. It didn’t matter that I’d kissed her for hours. It didn’t matter that I was tender in the way I touched her. None of it mattered because I was leaving.
I was leaving her.
I was leaving us.
I closed my eyes and inhaled a breath, trying to prepare myself for what I was about to do. If I could slip out quietly, she’d never know, but I couldn’t do that to her. I couldn’t leave without saying goodbye.
Belle stirred in my arms, and I used that as motivation to push up out of the bed and get dressed. I wasn’t looking at her, but I could feel the burn of her eyes on my skin. Her silence spoke volumes, but I had a feeling she had no idea what was about to happen.
I swallowed and pushed my shoulders back, then spun around to face her. Her dark-blue eyes focused on my face, and her smile told me she was still in the happy bubble we’d created.
“Morning,” she whispered.
I needed to say something back. I needed to ease her into it, but what came out of my mouth was, “I have to go.”
She frowned. “Go? Go where?”
I pushed my hand through my hair and gripped on to it. “Home.”
She blinked several times, and then finally her face dropped as she understood what I was saying. Belle sat up and reached for her T-shirt on the floor. “You’re leaving?” she asked, her voice sounding so different from how it normally sounded.
