Page 56 of Into the Shadows

A smile lifts the corner of my mouth when Lottie motions for me to come closer. I hover over her body, my fists pressing into the bed by her shoulders. An invisible hand squeezes my heart when Lottie opens her eyes. The depths of her emotions are too much for me to take. I don’t know what to do with the things she gives me so openly and easily.

I grab her around the waist to avoid the look in her eyes and pull her up the bed until we’re in the center. She wraps her legs around my hips and her arms around my neck. I wouldn’t be surprised if she sees through my tactics and is letting me get away with the avoidance.

All she has to do is tilt her hips until the head of my cock is notched at her entrance. We lock eyes as I slide into her. The feeling of her squeezing me has shivers running down my spine. Nothing has ever felt like this before. I want to live inside Lottie. It doesn’t seem to matter how many times I have her; it’s not enough. I’ll want more of her until the day I die. Whether she feels the same is a different story.

She lifts her head to kiss me, her plush lips sending me into a frenzy. I take it out on her body, needing her to be as overwhelmed as I am.

Her moans increase, her head tilting back as I slam into her over and over again. I grab the back of her neck to keep her in place. I fuck her with an animalistic intensity until her body clamps down on mine. Her orgasm rips mine from me, making me come harder than I ever have before. My entirebody shudders through it until I’ve emptied everything I have into Lottie—my heart included.

I don’t have a clue when she took me over mind and soul, but she holds my life in her hands. If she leaves, I’ll be a shell of the man I was before.

Chapter 32

Lottie

Gia’s shoulders droop when the call goes to voicemail.

“Maybe she’s just busy right now. We can try again in a little bit.”

“I don’t know, Lottie. Something doesn’t feel right.” Gia rubs her chest as her gaze goes distant. It’s as if she’s trying to connect with Ginny from across the country. I can’t blame her. We’ve all started to worry about her.

The wedding is only a few months away now. Gia and her mom are supposed to go out to California in a few days to go dress shopping. Neither of them is looking forward to it. They’re excited to see Ginny, of course, but Ginny’s manager scheduled photo ops with the bridesmaids while they shop. It’s turned into a major circus.

Before we can say anything more, my laptop rings with an incoming call. Gia answers it right away, and Ginny’s face fills my screen.

“My two favorite people!” Ginny grins at us, and Gia’s body relaxes on the couch. If I wasn’t sitting right next to her, I’d never have noticed.

“But I’m the first favorite, right?” Giasmirks. Her face shows none of her earlier concern. I’m not sure why she’s hiding it from Ginny. Maybe with how stressed she’s been about the wedding, Gia doesn’t want to add to it.

“Naturally,” Ginny says drily. “Sorry, Lottie.”

I laugh. “It’s all good. Twin always trumps bestie.”

“What have you guys been up to? It’s been forever since we’ve gotten to FaceTime.” Ginny leans back in her bed. She looks relaxed and at ease in her space.

“Lottie got herself a boyyyyyfriennnnd,” Gia sings.

Ginny gasps. “Who is it?”

I cover my face with my palms, my cheeks heating until I’m sure they’re bright red.

“It’s her soldier boy from college.”

“No. Way. Are you serious? How did that happen, and why the heck am I only just now hearing about it?”

“You’d know if you were around more often,” Gia murmurs under her breath.

I stick my elbow into her ribs to stop her from saying it louder. “It’s only been a few months. He moved home, and I wouldn’t leave him alone until he went out on a date with me.”

Gia scoffs. “That man was obsessed with you after you spent the night with him.”

“He was not!” I argue.

“I’m missing so many details. Start over from the beginning.”

Gia and I tell Ginny the story and everything that’s happened since Teddy came back to Sonoma. Gia’s additions are less than helpful, but I like hearing this story from her perspective. It’s surprisingly cathartic to talk to Ginny about it all. There are moments when it feels like I’m walking on a frozen lake around Teddy. If I take one wrong step, I’ll be trapped under the water, unable to find a way to the surface.

The other night, I almost blurted out that I’m in love withhim. The only thing that stopped me was his obvious avoidance of the emotion. I’m sure my eyes were screaming it at him, and he looked away instead of facing it. I wish I knew what that meant for us going forward.

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