Page 80 of Light My Fire Three Times
“I know, but…”
“Come on, Liv. This is impossible for me. You think I didn’t want to call you every damn day? To know you’re dating Karl. And that he isn’t even treating you right?”
I swallow hard. “Jesse…”
“I’m an idiot,” he continues. “Because the whole time I was busy trying to do the right thing, all I wanted was you.”
My chest feels like it's caving in. “You can’t just say that now, Jesse. You don’t get to show up at my door and?—”
“And what?” he challenges, stepping closer, close enough that I can see the storm in his eyes, feel the heat coming off him in waves. “And tell you the truth? Because that’s all I’ve got left, Liv. I wanted you then. I want you now. It’s never stopped.”
Something in me snaps. Maybe it’s anger, maybe it’s longing, maybe it’s the fact that every inch of me has been aching for these words even as I swore I didn’t need them.
“You’re impossible,” I whisper, because the alternative is sayingI want you too,and I’m not sure I’ll survive that.
He exhales like he’s been holding his breath for months. “And you drive me out of my damn mind.”
And then…
I don’t know who moves first. Maybe it’s him. Perhaps it’s me. Maybe it’s both of us at the same time because suddenly his mouth is on mine, and every furious word we’ve thrown at each other is burning up between us.
The kiss is rough, desperate. We’re both trying to make up for all the time lost and all the things we never said. My towel slips a little, and I don’t even care because his hands are on my face, in my hair, holding me close.
When we finally break apart, we’re both breathing like we ran a marathon, foreheads pressed together, and I can taste regret and want on my lips like they’re the same damn thing.
“This changes nothing,” I whisper, even though it changes everything.
“Bullshit,” he murmurs, and then he kisses me again.
His mouth claims mine again, harder this time, like he’s daring me to take it back, daring me to tell him to stop. My back hits the wall, cold against my damp skin, and the towel loosens completely. It falls in a whisper of fabric at my feet.
For a heartbeat, I freeze, completely exposed. But Jesse’s eyes… the way he looks at me. Not just hunger, though that’s there, burning fast as wildfire, but something more profound, that makes me forget every reason I swore this was off limits.
“Livvy…” He’s trying to hold himself back.
His hands hover at my sides, not quite touching, giving me the choice.
And that undoing is worse than his kiss. Because it’s not just lust. He wants me to decide. He’s giving me the out I begged for all this time.
But instead of running, I pull him closer. His chest slams into mine, solid and warm, and the sound that rumbles out of him is pure relief.
“Stop overthinking,” I whisper, fingers tangling in his shirt. “Just… don’t stop.”
That’s all it takes. His restraint snaps, and his hands are on me. Strong, certain, sliding over wet skin, mapping every inch like I belong to him already. His mouth trails down my jaw, my throat, my shoulder, and every place he touches feels branded.
I gasp when his strong arms pin me to the wall. We’re both shaking, both burning, and I know this is reckless, dangerous, maybe even doomed…
But right now? It feels inevitable.
Jesse’s mouth is wild on me, biting, sucking, claiming, leaving marks across my chest that will be there tomorrow, and the thought only makes me wetter. His hand is between my legs now, fingers stroking me through slick folds, and when he pushes one inside, I cry out, nails dragging down his back.
“Fuck, Livvy…” His voice is wrecked, his lips brushing my ear as he works me with slow, deliberate thrusts. “So tight. So perfect. I’ve thought about having you like this, screaming on my fingers, every damn night.”
His words make me shiver. No, not shiver,shake.
My thighs tremble around his hand, hips grinding to meet every curl of his fingers. I’m already undone, already moaning like I’ve lost all sense of pride, and the way he watches me, hungry, desperate, only drives me higher.
I can’t help it. My hand is already at his belt, yanking until the leather slips free. I shove my hand inside, and when I wrap my fingers around him, he groans into my neck like I’ve just stolen his last breath.
