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Her panting makes me lose control, and I thrust forward.

“Jim,” she cries out sharply, throwing her head back as her body clenches around mine like a fist.

I pump into her faster and faster, our bodies moving in time with one another, milking me with each roll of her hips.

My balls tighten, fire shooting up my shaft when it violently explodes. My orgasm encourages her own, and with a long, muffled groan, her body seizes up as waves of pleasure rock through her body. I hold her close, not wanting to let her go. But it isn’t enough.

I need more.

I need her, forever and always.

There’s no gentle withdrawal from pleasure. It settles in close and deep and urges me to sleep. Taya is a rag doll on top of me, and it’s easy to maneuver her lax limbs until she’s back in my arms, head against my chest. I press a kiss against her sweat-soaked hair and breathe in the smell of sex and warm skin.

Before I give in completely to sleep, I squeeze her to me. “In the morning, you’re going to tell me exactly how you broke your arm. No more lies.”

She nods weakly, and I kiss her again.

“We’re moving your stuff too. You’re sleeping in here from now on.”

Chapter Twenty

Taya

The kitchen smellslike freshly made coffee and baked bread. I never thought such little things could represent happiness, but the feeling warming the center of my chest is a familiar one, one I haven’t felt in a long time. I didn’t think I could. But there it is, a bright ball of warmth.

Moving easily through the kitchen, I cast another anxious glance toward Jim. He’s been quiet since we woke up this morning, and that silence tempers some of my glow. He hasn’t mentioned Lux, but shadows linger in his eyes. He’s moving more stiffly than usual, and there’s a heaviness to his shoulders I want to smooth away.

I take another step toward him. “What are you making?”

The muscles in his arms bunch as he kneads another ball of dough on top of his wooden cutting board, his back still to me. “Told you. It’s a secret.”

I perch on the edge of the kitchen counter and take another sip of coffee. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Talk about what?” His voice is hoarse, and my own throat tightens. Jim woke up before me, and the house is spotless. Even more so than usual.

“You’re not a very good liar.” The words escape as a whisper.

“I’m an excellent liar.”

I shake my head. “Nope. The cleaning is a pretty major tell.”

He pauses but still doesn’t turn. “Oh, really?”

“Yup.” I swallow, telling myself to be brave. Things between Jim and I are better than they’ve ever been. Even so, my heart races at the thought of rejection. “What was he like?”

I don’t have to speak his name. Jim’s sagging shoulders say it for me.

Lux.

“He is...wasa dick.”

“Like all your other friends?” I quip.

He laughs. It’s abrupt and strained, but it’s a start. “Pretty much. Birds of a feather, I guess.”

As he speaks, he begins working again. “We’ve known each other for a long time.” I don’t bother pointing out his use of present tense. I never knew sentence structure could make my chest ache. “I was fifteen when he moved into the house across the street. My dad was a drunk, and when he got out of hand, Ma would send me running for cover.”

He walks over to the stove, and his Adam’s apple bobs. “I was too old for running. I told Ma, but she said she needed me out of the house for her sake more than mine. She didn’t want me and the old man getting into it. She was afraid we would kill each other. So, I stayed with Lux while he screamed at her. His mother worked as a chef at the nearby hotel. Lux wasn’t interested, but sometimes I’d get bored with playing video games and wander into the kitchen. I’d watch her cook, and one day, she started to teach me.”

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