Page 184 of Zero Chance

I mean, I’d always known this would be a very real possibility.I wasn’t exactly Miss Personality over here.But God, this was going to hurt.

I was already breathing heavily and trying to swallow down the lump of dread in my throat, bracing for the impact of his rejection as I slumped reluctantly down the steps to his room.

How the hell was I going to face my mother and tell her she’d been right?

The door was half open, but the lights were off except for the soft glow of a desk lamp.

I hesitated before biting my lip and giving his door a soft knock.

When he called, “Come in,” I could hear in his voice he wasn’t okay.

“Hey,” I murmured, trembling as I stepped into the room.“What’re you doing alone in the dark?”

“I had a rough day.You up for some snuggling?”

“Of course.”

I started toward him, only for him to ask me to shut the door behind me.

Thinking he didn’t want ears listening in on the breakup lecture he was about to deliver, I hesitated, almost wanting to leave it open despite his request, but I didn’t think I wanted anyone else to hear it either.

Shutting it behind me, I slid off my shoes and approached the bed, where he lifted his arm to invite me onto the mattress and straight into his embrace.

Unable to deny him anything, I crawled down against him, and he pulled me close, wrapping both his arms and even his legs around me greedily.

“God,” he groaned, rubbing his cheek along mine and shuddering in satisfaction against me.“You feel perfect.Thank you.This was exactly what I needed.”

Oh, geez.I was such an idiot.All I’d been thinking about was myself and if he still cared, while this whole time he’d legitimately had a bad day over something that probably had nothing to do with me.

Swearing to myself that I was going to call him immediately the next time something felt off, I turned in his arms to cup his face in my hands, and then I kissed his lips.“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Yes.”He kissed me back just as gently, but his voice cracked as he spoke.“I do.But it’s going to be hard.”

“Okay.”I bobbed my head, ready to support him through anything.“Take your time.”

“Thanks.”He ran a hand over my hair and pulled my face closer so he could kiss my brow.“God, I love being with you.You just have this calming way about you that…settles something inside me.I feel like you’re the eye of the hurricane that is my hyper, out-of-control self.You’re my center.And I’ve become addicted to being with you.I’ve become addicted to beinginsideyou.”

When he paused there, I smiled.“Trust me, I don’t have a problem with that.”

But he said, “Are you sure?I haven’t been demanding too much from you, have I?I mean, if you need to cool it some on the sex—you’d tell me, right?You’re not just going along with everything I initiate because you know how much I want it, are you?Because you know you can always turn me down.You can always—always—say no.”

Tipping my head in absolute confusion, a new fear cropped up inside, wondering what he knew.But the stark worry inhiseyes alarmed me more.It had me pushing aside my own concerns and saying, “Of course I know that.Ilikebeing with you; I wouldn’t keep coming back for more if I didn’t.”

“But do you like thesex?”he pressed, almost desperately.“Because I would stay with you, even if you never wanted me to touch you again.I wouldn’t reject you if you didn’t like it.So just—straight up honesty with me here.Do you like having sex with me?Does it make you feel good?Do you want more?Do you ever just ache for me to be inside you?And believe me when I tell you it is one hundred percent okay for you to say no.I just—I need to know.”

Panic flooded my skin.“Keene.Wha—where is this coming from?What the heck happened to you today?Of course, I like being with you.”

“But that could just be because you knowIlike it.You could be trying to make me happy.Which you don’t have to do, you know.You don’t?—”

“I love sex with you,” I insisted.“I like the orgasms you give me.I like the attention you give my breasts and the way you touch me as if you adore my body.I like your hands on me.And your mouth…everywhere.Ilikebeing with you, okay?Do you believe me now?”

He nodded slowly, even as he kept watching me as if he didn’t know if he could trust my words or not.I flushed with embarrassment as I glanced away and finally confessed, “Sometimes, I’ll be sitting in class, and if the lecture gets too boring, I’ll start thinking about the last time I was with you, and my breasts will start to ache, missing your tongue.Then I’ll get all wet and horrified because I’m turned on in the middle of a freaking boring lecture.”

A big grin split across his face, and he lifted his eyebrows with interest.“Yeah?”

I rolled my eyes.“Oh yeah.And sometimes, I come up with ideas of things we could try the next time we’re together.Like that night I bit your nipple.”I winced as I nodded.“I came up with that in calculus.”

“Really?Oh, you naughty, naughty girl.”Gliding his hand sensually down the side of my arm, he bounced his eyebrows suggestively.“Has my mistress thought of anythingelseshe’d like to try that we haven’t done yet?”

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