Page 89 of Corpse Roads

He can’t see them.

I push him away, gulping down air as he hovers above me. His eyes are hooded with desire, pupils blown wide.

“Did I go too far?” he murmurs.

I attempt to catch my breath. “No… I just, well, the others will be home soon. We should… um, stop.”

Leighton sighs, his head landing on my chest. “You’re right. They’ll fucking kill me if they knew we were… ahem, doing this.”

“This?” I repeat with a tiny smile.

He breathes against my collarbones. “This. I don’t have any fancier words right now.”

Stupidly, we both burst into laughter. We’re surrounded by mess, his hands look like he tried to pet a rabid kitten, and I’ve been choked half to death. This entire thing is an almighty chaos.

Rolling off me, Leighton offers a hand. I let him ease me up until we’re both kneeling, staring at the other with curiosity.

“What does this mean?” I bite my lip.

His eyes are focused on my neck. It will bruise, I’m sure of it. My throat still feels sore. I can’t believe he had to resort to that.

“You scared me,” Leighton admits in a soft voice.

“I scared myself.”

“My cellmate in prison used to have panic attacks. I could hardly reason with him when it happened. Sometimes, he’d lash out and start a fight. It was the only thing that made sense to him.”

Leighton startles, seeming to realise what he’s revealed. I take his hand and intertwine our fingers.

“Enzo told me about your prison sentence.”

The fear on his face increases. “Of course, he did.”

“Not the full story, don’t worry. Just that you served time and came out recently. You can talk to me, if you want.”

Shaking his head, Leighton stands and slides his hands under my arms to pull me up. Neither of us knows how to approach the madness that just unfolded, so we begin to clean up in silence.

I’m rinsing off a chopping board with one hand when he stops behind me, depositing several more dishes to be cleaned next. His breath is hot against my ear.

“Does that happen often?” he asks.

“What?”

“These… attacks. Losing yourself like that.”

Gulping, I focus on washing the soapsuds from the board. “More than the others realise. I usually find my own way back.”

“How?”

I clamp down on the sudden desire within me that wants to be honest. He deserves that much, but I can’t admit it. The growing bald patch beneath my thick mane of hair is a dirty secret.

“I don’t know. I just do.”

The crash of the front door opening startles us both. Leighton leaps away from me, and I immediately mourn his body heat.

“Anyone home?”

“In here,” Leighton calls back.

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