Page 142 of Hide and Keep

“I meant sex! I need dick, you’ll provide it.”

“Exactly. I’m the—”

“You can’t be my everything!”

His eyebrows crease a split second before he finally raises his voice, too, shouting, “Why the fuck not? You’re mine!”

“Your…what?”

“You…” He half-twists like he’s going to leave, but I want him to stay. I need him to. What am I to him?

“Hello?” I prompt.

Silence stretches so tight it almost snaps. Before it can, Crue spins back around, rushing out, “You’re my protectee. My sole priority is to take care of you.Allof you.”

My scoff knocks around my chest, battering my already bruised heart. That’s all I’ll ever be to him.

“I don’t need taken care of in that way.”

His scoff sounds just as incredulous as mine did. “You need taken care of in every way.”

“That’s what our valet’s for.”

“Edwin doesn’t do for you what I do.”

“Ruin my life?”

“Make you so wet your thighs look like they’re crying.”

He tries coming closer but I stick out my arm, palm to his sternum, the thumps I feel beneath it identical to what’s happening in my own chest.

“Stop.” It’s a warning but sounds like a plea. He’s my father’s employee. My bodyguard. My enemy.

I should hate him, everything he’s doing, everything he will do…

And yet…

My fingers twist in the material of his shirt, pulling him the rest of the way to me because he’s more than that. He’s the object of my obsession, the catalyst for my transformation, the highlight of my existence.

Bending to my height again, Crue closes the distance between our faces, centimeters separating our lips.

“I’ll make you feel so good you won’t even consider looking for it elsewhere.”

My lips suddenly dry, I lick them, my tongue grazing Crue’s at the same time, the top one first, then the bottom. They’re exactly like I remember—full and delicious.

His breathing accelerates, drying them all over again.

A whispered, “Prove it,” from me sends crackles around their edges.

Crue’s mouth descends so quick I have to whip my head to the side to avoid contact.

“Not that.”

I see him flinch out of the corner of my eye and shut both.

“I can’t kiss you?” Crue’s voice carries the hurt I know is on his face, making me ache to cover my ears, too.

“That’s not what you offered.”

---