Page 129 of I’m The Worst

Thunder rattles somewhere outside the cabin, but all I can hear is my own heartbeat.

Wolff doesn’t move.

Doesn’t even breathe for a second.

I press his hand there anyway, my fingers trembling slightly around his wrist.

“I hate that I’m scared of being touched around my neck. I used to like this.” The confession makes my chest ache. Because now every touch near my neck reminds me of pain. But his hand—even motionless against my throat—feels different.

Safer.

And I hate how strongly I need that from him too.

My hand rests where she placed it, her skin warm beneath my palm, her pulse fluttering softly against my thumb. Chest too tight, the back of my neck sweats for no fucking reason.

Every instinct in me screams to pull away at what she said.

My thumb drags slowly along the base of her throat, feeling the delicate shift of muscle.

Jesus Christ.

She presses back into me harder, offering me more of her neck. More trust. More vulnerability than she should ever hand to someone like me. I stare at my hand wrapped around her throat, and all I can think about is blood.

Broken cartilage.

Bodies going limp beneath my grip.

The kinds of things these hands were made for.

My fingers flex lightly, just enough to feel her swallow. “You trust me to do this?”

“I don’t want to be scared of it anymore. I want you to help me erase it.”

Something ugly twists low in my stomach. She’s asking the wrong person. The absolute fucking worst person. My grip tightens slightly, testing her reaction. Her breath catches, and the sound shoots straight to my cock.

Fuck.

I hate this.

Hate the way her small body fits beneath mine.

Hate the heat of her pressed against me.

Hate the fact that my first instinct isn’t to hurt her, but to pull her closer until there’s no air left between us.

My thumb presses gently against the center of her throat, and suddenly the memory of the safehouse slams back to the forefront. Rage flashes through me so fast, my hand nearly jerks away, but she shifts beneath me, pressing her ass back against my dick.

It only makes things worse.

I drag my hand upward, fingers spreading along her jaw, forcing her head back enough that I can see her face. Her lips part immediately, eyes hazy in a way that makes something inside me feel dangerously unstable.

“You lied to me, AJ.”

Confusion flickers across her face. “What⁠—”

“You refused to use the safeword.” I slide my thumb into her mouth, pressing it flat against her tongue. “I don’t have soft places for you. I don’t do gentle.” I lean closer until my mouth brushes her ear. “I’ll hurt you. And it won’t mean anything. That safeword is the only thing stopping me from becoming exactly what you’re afraid of.”

She shakes her head as much as she can with my hand gripping her.