Page 76 of Make You Stay

He finally grants me some breathing room as he walks us through the house. “Where are we going?”

“Upstairs.”

That single word reverberates through my lust-filled haze.

Planting my hands on his chest, I shake my head. Trust me, Iwantto have sex with Aidan. I’ve got a pleasant buzz going, and this man plays my body like the finest instrument. His mouth and hands should be gilded—they’re that good—and don’t even get me started on his cock.

But that’s not the point.

He broke my heart, and a quick romp isnotthe way to fix this problem.

“Besides the messy emotional state of our lives, we can’t have sex.”

“Why?”

Let’s try logic. Maybe that will work. “I don’t have any condoms here. Do you have some?”

Aidan shakes his head, but he hasn’t stopped moving toward the stairs.

“Where are we going?” I repeat.

“I told you. Upstairs.”

“And I told you we don’t have—”

“We don’t need one.” His green eyes spark as they hold my gaze, the desire raging in their depths.

“Did you get a vasectomy while I was gone?” Considering his current behavior and desire to throw caution to the wind, it’s a distinct possibility.

“Of course not.”

My eyes widen as I struggle to appear unaffected by his demands. “It’s not a safe time of the month.”

More logic, which apparently, Aidan has no qualm with throwing out the window.

A slow smile breaks across his magical mouth as he dusts kisses along my jaw. “Do you have any more obstacles you’d like to throw out there, or can I take you to the bedroom now and make love to you all night?”

Words I would have given anything to hear a few weeks earlier are now a mocking reminder of how we ended things before I left for New York.

“What are you doing, Aidan?” The false bravado has long since fled, leaving only uncertainty in its wake.

“Showing you that what you want, I want it, too.”

“But you don’t, remember? You made that very clear.”

“I was wrong.”

My rational brain bursts into the moment, overruling any further chance of playtime. I know what he’s doing and why he’s doing it.

I can’t allow it.

It isn’t fair, especially not to me.

“Please, put me down. Aidan, I know you’re hurting, and you feel lost with everything happening with Enid, but that’s not a reason to say these things. Certainly not a reason to claim to want me and want what I want.”

Part of me expects Aidan’s anger to show up, but it doesn’t. Just another soft smile as he presses his mouth to mine. “You’re right. It’s not, but loving you is a reason—a really fucking valid one.”

Talk about taking an arrow and hitting the bullseye of my heart. I run my fingers along his jaw, feeling the tears once again back up in my eyes. “You broke my heart. I can’t risk giving it to you again, no matter how much I want you or how much I’ve missed you.”

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