Page 81 of Dream (Fighting Fate)

So that’s what I did. I kissed her, stroked her, and breathed her in, until she started melting underneath me and desire began to take her over again. And as each moment passed, as her body began to softly sway against me, her pussy gripping my cock, moving around it, the small amount of control I’d managed to grab a hold of, evaporated into the air around me, and with one thrust, I shattered into a million pieces.

Chapter 49

Olivia

Consciousness came to me as scattered thoughts. My body was too heavy, begging me to fall back into sleep, but the slight aches in various places lingered in my rousing thoughts. As I rolled to my side, a soreness between my legs—and the memory of why the soreness was there—instantly brought me the rest of the way out of my slumber.

My eyes fluttered open, my head scrambling to ca

tch up, but as soon as they took in the straight lines and pristine order of a hotel room, it all came rushing back to me. Swinging my gaze across the room, it settled on a dark figure sitting on a chair by the window.

I shifted, frowning through my haze. “Josh?”

Slowly, Josh stood and moved toward me. Confusion jumped to the top of my erratic emotions as I tried to process what was going on. He was dressed and wasn’t really acting as though he was happy to be here at all. Nausea roiled in my stomach.

Drawing my body up to sit, I clutched the sheet to my chest, tensing, trying to prepare myself for every bad scenario I could think of. Josh lowered himself down to the edge of the bed. His eyes were tender as they took me in, but there was an undeniable tension in his gaze. Leaning forward, he kissed me softly on the forehead. “Good morning, beautiful.”

Again, there was nothing there that should’ve made me worried. His words were kind and his actions were intimate, but my intuition was definitely picking up on a hint of sadness in his body language. “What’s wrong?”

He watched me for a long time, his gaze conflicted and pained. “I fucked up, Liv,” he said, guilt sparking.

I raised my chin a fraction, preparing myself. I prayed he wasn’t going to tell me we shouldn’t have done what we did the night before, but I knew it was inevitable.

He rubbed his hands over his face. “So much,” he mumbled.

“Tell me,” I said, my voice hardening.

When he met my gaze again, regret swam in his eyes, almost choking me. “I’m sorry, Liv.” He was being so vague, I wanted to punch him, but then he drew in a deep breath, and a resignation came over him. “Someone took pictures of us last night.”

Horror filled me as my mind jumped to the one thing I would never want the public to see. “What do you mean?”

He sighed. “There are pictures of us together on the Internet. Mostly talking downstairs. But there are some of us leaving together.”

I bit my lip, thinking over what this could mean for me. “What does that mean? What will happen now?”

Pain flashed in his eyes. “I’m hoping nothing. Unless someone’s been able to name you, I don’t think they’ll recognize you. You normally look so different than in those pictures.”

I blinked at him. My mind was jumping back and forth between being relieved my identity had a chance of being kept safe, and heartbroken that Josh was so panicked about people finding out about me. Trying to breathe through the lump forming in my throat, I nodded. “Okay.”

His jaw clenched. “Maybe just wear your hair up for the next few weeks if you go out in public,” he said, his gaze moving over my hair as it hung over my shoulders.

I didn’t understand why I was suddenly feeling so devastated. I mean, at no time did I think or hope Josh would want more from me than what we’d shared. The sadness and disappointment that was coursing through me now confused me so much.

Regret made his shoulders sag. As he shifted forward, he took my hands. “Liv, I’m a selfish asshole. I should’ve left you alone right back when I first saw you, but I couldn’t. You were intriguing and beautiful, and I wanted you for myself. You’re in this mess because my greed has dragged you into it.”

I shook my head, needing this whole thing to be over. “You gave me fair warning, Josh. You told me what the paparazzi were like. You gave me a choice. I made it.”

Emotions flashed through his eyes, faster than I could catch. His gaze flickered between each of my eyes, as though he was searching for an answer to some question only he knew. After another long moment, he swallowed hard. “That’s not everything,” he said. “I didn’t use protection last night.”

My mind went blank. Why the hell hadn’t I thought of that? I’d come from living in a place where I was required to urge the girls to use protection every single day. I mean, I knew pregnancy wouldn’t be a problem because my period was due within the week, but it was still stupid of me. I had no idea what his sexual history was like. I swallowed. “Is . . . is there anything I should know?”

“I’m clean,” he said, still searching my eyes. “That’s the first time I’ve ever forgotten.”

I exhaled and gave him a small nod. This sucked. All of it. The seriousness. The sadness. The regret.

“I’m really sorry, Liv,” he said, his voice rough.

Pressing my lips together, I searched his eyes while I thought about the consequences of what we’d done. “What will happen if the pictures of us come out?”

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