Page 114 of After All This Time

"You're getting so far in your head here, baby."

"I don't want to ruin us. That's what it boils down to," I admit, my heart tightening. "No matter how much we say it won't, it could."

"Trust me, I get it. The idea of you not being in my life…" He looks away, jaw clenching as he stares at some point on the wall before meeting my eyes again. "It fucking terrifies me. But I can't keep living with you and not touch you when I feel like this."

Tobiasreaches across and wraps his hand around mine. "Why don't we sleep on it tonight? We've said a lot, and I think we might feel clearer in the morning."

"Yeah, okay."

He leans in, pressing his lips to my hair, and the tenderness of it stings behind my eyes, but I blink back the tears, refusing to let them fall.

"It'll be okay, I promise."

I stand slowly, my fingers trailing across his shoulder as I move to leave—one last touch to hold me over.

"Night," I breathe out, glancing back.

"Goodnight, Mills."

I practically run to my room, fighting everything in my body that's screaming at me to turn around andgo back to him.

Heading straight for the shower, I leave my clothes in a trail of evidence leading to my bathroom. I step inside and feel the warmth of the water caress my skin, washing the day away.

My muscles ache, but the throbbing between my legs is worse—a pulsing reminder of how empty I am and how much I need him to fill me. My imagination runs wild with images of him—his hands gripping my hips, pulling me back against him. His breath hot against my neck, teeth scraping my skin. His cock pressing into me, stretching me, owning me.

I've lost all control of my thoughts, and honestly? I don't want it back.

Every instinct is begging me to go to him, to let him take me apart piece by piece, to submit to whatever this is between us. But we've cracked ourselves open tonight, spilling truths we can't take back.

Maybe he needs time to process the shift in our universe just as much as I do.

The water runs over my breasts, down my stomach, and between my thighs—each drop of water a cruel tease, a ghost of the hands I'm craving. I reach for my shampoo, trying to focus on anything but thoughts of how his fingers would feel sliding over my soap-slicked skin, how he'd turn me to face the wall, how he'd…

Tobias.

One second I'm alone… the next, his body is caging mine.

"Let me." He breathes against my ear.

His strong fingers thread through my hair, massaging my scalp with a tenderness that makes my head fall back against hischest. A moan escapes my lips as his mouth finds the sensitive spot where my neck slopes into my shoulder, his hard length pressing insistently against my lower back.

He takes his time with my hair, turning simple touches into torment.

"Is this okay,Firefly?" The nickname falls from his lips before he sucks hard on my neck, making my knees buckle beneath me.

His hand splays across my stomach, holding me steady while the other curves around my neck, and he guides my face to his. Water runs down his gorgeous face, droplets clinging to his lashes like tiny diamonds. When I lean forward to taste them from his lips, he groans before claiming my mouth in a kiss that causes my core to clench with need. His hand trails lower, slipping between my thighs, and when his fingers part me, I cry out like the needy little slut I've become for him.

He cups my pussy andthe heel of his palm grindsagainst my clit. Two thick fingers slide inside, stretching me in that way that has me arching like a bow, desperate for more.

"Were you thinking about me in here, baby?"

"Yes," I confess.

"I can feel it. So fucking wet for me." His fingers stay buried deep, while his thumbcircles my clit, leaving me seconds away from begging him to let me come.

But then he stops.

"Fuck no, not yet," he mutters, pulling his fingers from me and leaving me right on the edge.

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