Page 180 of Before We Were

“Mhm. I’m gonna ruin it later," I murmur, nipping her earlobe. "It and you." I take her mouth again, catching her bottom lip between my teeth, wanting to devour her whole. “Can't wait to rip it off... watch it fall to the floor."

The moan that tears from her throat nearly shatters my control. Her head falls back, throat exposed—trusting me completely when she shouldn't.

"Like that idea?" I whisper against her collarbone, tasting salt and sweetness. "You'd let me tear it right off you before I devour you."

"Nate," she gasps, body pressing closer as my hands slide under her dress, finding bare thighs that scorch my palms. "You can't say things like??—“

I pull back, chest heaving like I've run miles. "Why not? Not pretending anymore, remember?"

The way she looks at me—fuck—like I hung the moon and stars. It peels me open, leaves me bleeding and raw and terrified and invincible all at once.

"We're not," she whispers without a trace of doubt.

"Good," I growl, eliminating every molecule of space between us. "Because, Len, you're mine."

Her gasp vanishes as I claim her mouth again, unleashing everything I've held back. She matches me beat for beat, like she always does—the only person who's ever kept up. My hands roam everywhere, greedy for more. The fabric bunches in my fists as I pin her hips against the door, fighting the urge to grind against her like a horny teenager.

I break away, lungs burning.

My fucking undoing.

I groan. My hands grip her thighs, lifting her until her legs wrap around my waist. The heat of her core against my stomach makes my vision blur at the edges. I'm gonna embarrass myself like I'm sixteen again if she keeps looking at me like that.

"Nate..." Her fingers trail down my chest, each touch burning through my shirt.

I kiss her harder, desperate to taste more, to memorize every inch of her. My lips find her jaw, her neck, feeling her shiver against me like she's coming apart.

“I’ve never wanted anyone like this," I confess against her skin, truth tearing out of me before I can stop it. “You make me want to lose control and it fucking terrifies me."

Her fingers yank my head back until our eyes meet. I see everything there—vulnerability, desire, trust I don't deserve.

"Then lose it," she whispers, and those two words nearly break me.

A sound tears from my throat—half growl, half groan—as I crush my mouth to hers again. My hands slide higher, feeling the damp heat through her panties.

Fuuuuck.

Her whimper against my lips sends lightning down my spine.

Then she says it: "I am yours, Nate, and I want you to be the one to take it. All of it."

I freeze, blood roaring in my ears. Searching her face for any hesitation, any doubt. There's none—just those eyes that see right through every wall I've ever built.

"Nora," I manage, something protective and fierce clawing at my chest. "That wasn't what I meant when??—"

She cuts me off with that soft laugh that makes me feel ten feet tall. "I know. But I'm asking you to. I want it to be you.”

Something cracks open inside me—something raw and vulnerable I didn't know existed. I kiss her again, slower this time, trying to pour everything I can't say into it.

"We should probably go back," she whispers, not sounding convinced.

My fingers tease the edge of her panties, feeling slick heat that makes my head spin. "Just a couple more minutes. I missed you."

"You saw me this morning. In bed, no less."

The memory slams into me—her beneath me, gasping my name, nails drawing blood down my back—and I groan, adjusting myself painfully.

"Fuck, Nora. I don't know how I'm supposed to make it through this party when you do this to me."

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