Page 91 of Ruin Me Gently

I pulled back slightly, breath ghosting over her mouth. “Keep them closed.”

It was more than instruction. It was a trust fall.

I wanted her to know what it felt like to trust me. For me to trust her.

And Lilith—beautiful, stubborn, reckless Lilith—fucking nodded.

Her breath shuddered. Her lips trembled. But her eyes stayed shut.

I kissed her again, dragging my fingers into her hair, gripping at the nape of her neck, tilting her close, swallowing every breath.

Everything snapped.

The heat of her bled through every layer, melting right into me. I roamed lower, memorising every curve, every dip, every part of her I had the privilege of touching. And then—Dio mio.

I palmed her ass, rough and greedy, sinking into the obscenely soft flesh. I squeezed, hard, moulding her into my hands, pressing my thumbs deep just to feel the give, the way she fit against me.

Her hands slid up to my neck, up into my hair, fingers curling into the strands, soft and tentative, before she gave a tug.

A sharp sound ripped from my throat, and my cock throbbed, aching, pulsing, demanding more. My control was slipping. Every second that passed, every shift of her hips, every graze of her nails—it was too much.

I wanted to lift her up and spread her wide, sink into her. Wanted her riding me, fucking me, taking me apart piece by piece until I was nothing but sweat and surrender, moaning her name with my last breaths.

No, I couldn’t.

I couldn’t.

I couldn’t.

I pulled back.

She made a soft, confused sound, and I swore it almost broke me.

“What—”

“Keep your eyes shut.”

Her lips were kiss-bruised, parted, inviting, and I had to look away before I lost my goddamn mind.

My hands moved on autopilot, the same way they always did. The same stupid ritual. Sealing myself away. Locking it down as I tied the scarf over my face, pulling my hood up, tucking myself back into my mask.

Safe. Distant. Safe. Safe. Safe.

I forced a breath through my teeth. “Okay. You can open them.”

Her lashes fluttered open. She stared. She blinked. And something shifted. Something broke.

I hated that I’d put that look on her face. That flicker of hurt. That tiny, infinitesimal second where she looked like she was about to call me out on it.

She shifted, slowly peeling herself off me, her warmth disappearing, and I nearly reached for her again. Nearly let my hands catch her waist, nearly let myself drown in her one last time.

But I didn’t. Because I couldn’t. Because I had to go.

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

Istood there likean idiot, staring at the door like I was waiting for it to apologise. For it to offer some kind of answer as to what the hell had just happened.

Instead, I got silence. Obviously. It was a piece of wood.

---