Page 51 of Make Me Pretty
I look away, hating the feeling more than the one of him against me. What it means. WhatImean.
I’m so fucking confused.
Sinking my teeth into my tongue to abate the threat of tears, I focus on the sharp sting to remind me of what’s right in front of me. Here and now.
The past affects us irrevocably, in every way. It becomes the very foundation of all we are. Influencing every moment, every decision, until we become the very product of our pain.
And I’m tired of living that pain. But it’s the only way I knowhowto live at all.
But Abel… the way he’s distorted my comprehension of what I thought I knew… it’s as enlightening as it is infuriating. And disconcerting.
I was perfectly content living in the fog I fabricated. One I entwined around my very core, hardened and dense. It kept me detached, disconnected, while still wholly immersed in my solitary torture.
And now, it’s fucking obliterated.
“Get off me,” Abel snaps, wriggling out of my hold. Or, at least, he tries, albeit pathetically. His head scrapes against the wall in his struggle against me, back bowed into the curve of my torso.
I lock my arms, keeping him pinned without much effort at all. It’s the constriction of muscle to bone that causes him to release a high-pitched wail, bucking wildly. “Get your fucking handsoff me!” His scream makes me smile, all traces of attainable revelation disappearing.
Abel has fucked me up for months—and damn, does it feel good to give the little runt a taste of his own medicine. To give when he doesn’t want. To push against his fucking will.
It makes my dick hard, treating him this way.
I don’t want to stop… And I don’t have to.
With a hiss and a snarl, I yank Abel back against my torso. A yelp rips from his throat as I lean back, then shove him intothe wall with my hand splayed across the back of his skull, hair coiled around my fingers for a better grip.
I bury my nose in his damp strands and inhale deeply.Cherry.“Your pussy is as ugly as I thought it’d be,” I murmur in a hushed undertone of honesty and blatant lies, spoken against the base of his skull. My words abate his fit of defiance. He goes rigid, and I chuckle at the ripple of his gluteal muscles against my groin.
My lips skim over his clavicle in the same rhythm as I reach for the lighter to drag the edge of it against his concaved stomach. When he shivers at the smooth drag of plastic, vague little pieces start to fit together.
“It’s okay, runt.” I press a kiss to his ear, followed by the flick of my tongue against the long barbell lodged there.Spill a truth.“I’ll still fuck it.” I blow breath into his ear, relishing in the appearance of goosebumps rising along his skin. “After all, how bad can it be when it’s been torn up as many times as it has?” My gut coils hotly at the admission.
With a heavy exhale, I grab his shoulders and twist him around. Abel’s sharp jaw is tense, the odd angle of the bone more prominent than ever. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so… incensed before. He’s always effusing this guise of blasé confidence.
Seems I’ve burrowed deeper than he meant for me to.
Welcome to the fucking club, runt.
“Well?” I prompt.His teeth creak under pressure. My brow hooks as Itsk.“Don’t pretend you’re not a whore, babe. I’veseenyou. Heard the rumors.”
“You don’t know shit.”
Look who’s stealing my line now.
I’m sure he intends for his words to bite, to pierce me as deep as I’ve pierced him, but they come out raspy, barely audible overthe thick cadence of his voice. Like he’s choked up and on the verge of tears.
Fuck. I wanna see him cry again.
I flip the lighter between my fingers, and Abel’s gaze is drawn to it immediately. “I know you’re a cum dump. You’re horny for it—any way you can have it. The way you salivated for just atasteof mine was proof of that.” I scrape my nail over the metal teeth of the spark wheel, feigning indifference. As if my heart isn’t about to burst through the very bone keeping it protected.
“But that’s okay. Not many people look as good as you covered in jizz. I should thank you for the photos I now have at my disposal…” I drag a finger over his thick, bottom lip, pulling it down until his crooked teeth are exposed. I suck on my tongue, wishing it was his. Wondering if he still tastes like all that candy he eats.
I snatch my hand away with a flash of impulsive revulsion. “But we already know this. What Idon’tknow…” I bring the lighter into his peripheral and tap the bottom edge against the tip of his nose. Abel’s wide eyes cross as he stares directly at it. “Is why you burn yourself.”
All the blood in his face drains, leaving him ghastly in appearance. His eyes dart downward as his face falls, leaving an odd sort of vacancy behind. My eyes catch on the silver bar in the bridge of his nose for a moment too long.
The realization forces me to take a step back. I bump against the vanity, the fingers on my left hand curling around the lip of the counter, but my eyes never stray from Abel. Even without my hands on him, he stays flat against the wall, unabashedly nude. Or maybe he doesn’t even register his nudity anymore, too focused on the unveiling of secrets that are better left unsaid.
