Page 63 of The Best I Never Had

Her breasts fit perfectly in my palms, like they were made to be there. My lips close around her nipple, increasing the suction until she writhes against me. Her hands come to the hem of my shirt, pushing it up so she can run her nails down my abs. I rip it over my head and drop it at our feet as she continues playing.

“I have to be inside you,” I groan onto her lips.

“Fuck, yes,” she moans in response.

I make sure she’s steady on her feet before I take a few quick steps to where I kicked off my jeans, digging in the pocket for my wallet. I flip through it—cards, cash, my ID, a fucking library card for Christ’s sake—but there’s no condom. A frustrated sound rips from my throat and I throw my wallet across the closet. It slams against a bottle of cleaner, which teeters precariously before settling back on the shelf. I don’t know which of my cousins stole the condom I keep in my wallet, but they’re fucking dead when I find out.

Thea’s staring at me with disappointed eyes. “No condom?”

No, but she’s still right there, and I’ll be damned if this ends here.

“What are you doing?” she asks in surprise as I go to my knees before her, grabbing one leg and throwing it over my shoulder. The moan she lets out when I close my lips over her clit is second only to the taste that explodes across my tongue. Fuck, I could live off only this for the rest of my life.

“If this is my only chance with you,” I say, letting the breath of my words breeze over her beautiful pussy, “there’s no way I’m letting it pass without tasting you.”

I keep eating her like she’s my last meal—honestly, I can’t think of anything else I’d choose over this if I were about to die—and I’m rewarded. Her hands dive into my hair, tugging me against her while she rides my face.

“So fucking sweet, Thea,” I murmur against her, and she whimpers.

My fingers tighten where my arm wraps around her thigh, keeping her open and bared to me as she squirms. My other hand closes around my cock, moving in time with my tongue over her swollen clit as she goes over the edge. Pleasure shoots up my spine seconds later, and I have just enough mental clarity to grab my shirt and come into that instead of all over the shelf supporting Thea.

I sit back on my heels as Thea’s legs give out and she settles onto my lap. My arms come around her back as hers land over my shoulders, and we just hold each other.

I’ve always thought Thea was too bright for me, like a spark shooting off the campfires we had every summer. I’d watch them twist through the air, constantly changing directions, mesmerizing in their unpredictability. They were meant to be watched and admired, not touched. I’d assumed Thea would be the same. But instead of feeling burned, I’m warm, like the spark sunk into my soul and is heating me from the inside out.

Her face is buried in my neck, and I think, of all the incredible things that have happened in the past fifteen minutes, this is the greatest of all. She feels right in my arms, and the only negative thing in this beautiful moment is the fear of what happens next. That once she recovers, she’ll walk away from me.

I’m so wrapped up in her that it takes a minute to register the moisture on my neck. I pull back to find tears streaming down her face. I wipe them away with my thumbs just for them to be replaced seconds later.

“I’m so sorry.” She hiccups, her eyes glued to my chest.

“What in the world are you sorry for, Thea?” I ask, wiping at more of the tears.

She opens her mouth but cries harder, her body shaking with her sobs. I hate that she’s hurting, and I’m desperate to fix it.

“I was such a bitch to you. I’m such a bitch to everybody,” she says. “Why don’t you hate me after all of that?”

“Hate you, because you were upset and needed to let off some steam? You’re not one moment, Thea, and trust me, the good of you far outweighs the bad.”

She watches me for a half second, then breaks out into sobs again. “That’s not your line.”

“What?” I ask, unable to stop my laughter.

“When I screw up, when I’m angry and mean and self-destructive. That’s not how the script goes. You’re supposed to call me out and tell me what a bitch I’m being.”

My stomach drops as I realize that’s what everyone else has done to her. No one’s ever given her room to feel those complicated feelings without cutting her off.

I gently kiss her forehead. “Let’s call this improvising, then.”

“You’re not supposed to be like this. It’s supposed to be easy,” she says.

I smile against her skin, because even if I hate that she’s hurting, it feels good to know this isn’t easy for her, either. Walking away from her in a few minutes will feel like my soul’s being stripped from my body. But for now, I have her. And I want to do anything I can to help her feel better while she’s letting me.

“Do you want to talk about what happened with Addy now?” I ask gently, tucking a curl behind her ear.

She shivers, leaning into my palm in a way that sets off a round of fireworks in my chest. “It wasn’t pretty.”

My mouth tugs up. “I don’t mind a bit of ugly. You’re too pretty as is.”