Page 178 of Ruin Me Gently

My chest ached. No wonder she didn’t call Evelyn her mom.

“That night you found me at the park? I’d had a dream about them.” Her fingers traced patterns against my chest. “I was trying to clear my head. I just needed air. To get out.”

My mind flickered back to that night—the way she had disappeared into the darkness, and I’d found her sitting on that cold park bench, staring out into nothing. I hadn’t known she wasrunning.

She huffed a breath, tilting her head up. “It’s stupid, right?”

I shook my head, fingers threading through her hair. “No, sweetheart. It’s not.”

My mind was racing as she melted further into my hold. I’d spent so much time with her at the centre of everything. Thinking I had her figured out. But I’d never knownthis.This was something that had shaped her. Something that still held her. I pressed my lips to the crown of her head, breathing her in, trying to push down the frustration that was burning my chest—not at her,neverat her—but at the fact there were things inside her that I couldn’t fix. Things I hadn’t known about.

She shifted. Turned slightly in my lap, her silver eyes searching mine. The air thickened, and her gaze flicked to my mouth.

Andfuck,I felt it—that pull. The same one I’d always felt with her. The same one I knew I’d never been able to fight.

“Silas…”

I didn’t know if it was a question. A thought. A need. Didn’t care. I brushed my knuckles against her jaw, tilting her chin up slightly. Her lips parted. That was all I needed. I closed the distance, pressing my mouth against hers.

Her fingers curled tighter into my shirt, pulling me in enough for me to feel the warmth of her body pressing into every inch of mine. I tilted my head, deepening the kiss, grip moving to her waist. She sighed into my mouth, andfuck—that sound.

I kissed her harder. She met me just as fiercely, her hands sliding up, fingers threading into my hair, tugging,testing.

A low growl rumbled in my throat, and she shifted in my lap, hands steadying against my shoulders as she adjusted herself, thighs sliding around my waist, pressing me in.Straddlingme.

Heat shot through me, sharp and all-consuming, every muscle in my body tightening at once.

“Lilith,” I groaned into her mouth, my hands slipping lower, gripping the bare skin at the tops of her thighs. I tilted my head, taking control, my tongue sweeping against hers.

She met me every step of the way. Pressing closer. Pulling me deeper.

I dragged my hands up her back, fingers splaying, desperate to feel every single inch of her. She arched into my touch, her breath catching as my mouth found her jaw, the column of her throat, teasing, sucking, feeling her pulse flutter beneath my lips.

“Tell me to stop,” I said against her skin, my breath ragged.

She didn’t. She rolled her hips, grinding down against me and my control snapped thread by thread.

“Lilith.” My voice was nothing more than a warning.

She leaned in, lips brushing against my ear. “I don’t want you to stop.”

A deep, guttural groan tore from my throat before one hand slipped lower, fingers trailing between us, skimming over the thin fabric covering her pussy.

“Cristo onnipotente, Lilith,” I murmured as I traced slow circles over the soaked fabric, drinking in the way she shivered in my lap. “So wet already.”

She let out a breathy sound, her hands gripping tighter onto my shoulders, her hips shifting, chasing the friction.

“I’ve missed this,” I whispered, my lips brushing against the shell of her ear. “I’ve missedyou.”

Her breath hitched as she tilted her head back slightly, giving me more of her throat, more of her skin to claim. “Silas…”

The way she said my name—breathless, needy, like she wanted to drown in me—sent sparks down my spine. I kissed her again, deeper this time, pressing my fingers harder against her, a slow grind against the barrier between us, dragging another soft sound from her lips.

“Let me show you how much,” I murmured against her mouth, slipping my hand beneath her underwear.

The breath shot out of my lungs.

“You’re fucking drenched for me.” I dragged my knuckles over her wetness before pressing a fingertip to her clit, rolling it in slow circles.

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