Page 186 of Did They Break You

Wrapping my arms around myself, I remember the last time he told me that in his truck. Foreboding snakes through me as he hops in and closes his door.

“Every Time You Leave”by I Prevail plays softly through the speakers. He leans over to me, threading his fingers in my hair as he kisses me, his tongue flicking over the seam of my lips as mine part for him.

His kiss seems urgent, and my fingers find his forearm, resting on the center console. I dig into the corded muscle, half out of my seat as he steals my breath.

When we finally pull away, he traces my cheekbone with his finger. “God, you’re perfect.”

Then he straightens, throws the truck in gear, and we drive off. I bring my fingers to my swollen lips, trying to gauge his mood beside me. But he’s focused on the road, his highbeams on, and I can’t help but feeling like there was something ominous in that kiss.

CHAPTER

FIFTY-ONE

REMI

Cortland comesup behind me as I wait at the door of his house. He wraps his arms around me and kisses my neck. I turn my head to the side, giving him access. A shiver takes over me, and I step back, further into him.

I can feel his erection against my back, and I let my eyes flutter closed as he runs his hands up my hoodie and my shirt, hot fingers on my skin.

He reaches past me, putting the key in the lock of the door, turning it and pushing the door open, leaving the key dangling in the lock as his hands come back to my hips.

“God, you smell so good.” He skims his nose over the back of my neck.

“Really?” I ask him quietly, smiling. “I was just in bed?—”

“It’s just your natural scent. I can’t get enough of it.” He straightens, then pushes me forward, into his house. He pulls out the key, closes the door and flips the lock. It’s dark in here, and I saw Storm’s WRX was in the driveway, but I don’t hear anything in the house.

Cortland’s hands run back up my sides, and he pulls on the hem of my hoodie, and my sleep shirt. “I want this off of you.”

Nerves flutter in my stomach, but in the dark, I lift my hands overhead. He pulls my clothes off, dropping them to the floor, his hands cupping my breasts, his thumbs over my nipples. “I wanna fuck you right here in the living room.”

My heart skips a beat as I think about Storm. “But what about?—”

“It’s nothing he hasn’t seen before,” he says in my ear, as if he’s reading my mind. “But tonight you’re all mine.” Then his hands come to my hips and he pushes me against the wall at the foot of the stairs. My palms come flat to the wall, my breath leaving me in a rush. He’s in a hurry, and he seems… desperate for me.

He runs his palms down my hips, pulling down my sweats and my underwear, too, until they drop to a heap at my ankles, my shoes still on.

His fingers curl around my wrist on one arm, keeping me in place.

“Spread your legs,” he says, and he adjusts himself behind me before I feel his cock against my ass.

I arch my back, widening my stance.

My core is hot, but he just toys with me for a second, running the head of his cock up my slit, causing me to whimper. But underneath my desire, something feels all off.

I turn to face him in the dark, my hands still on the wall, one pinned there by his fingers. “Cortland,” I whisper, my voice hoarse, “is something wrong?”

His fingers tighten around my wrist as he circles himself over my entrance, teasing me. “Not now,” he says, his voice low and throaty.

I narrow my gaze. “Seriously, Cort, is?—”

He groans, cutting me off as his mouth comes over mine. “Just trust me, okay?”

I frown. “What’s wrong?”

He dips his head, staring into my eyes. “I’ll take care of you.”

Those words send warmth flushing through me. “Okay,” I finally say, turning back to face the wall, that confusion, the feeling of something beingwrongstill eating at me.

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