Page 161 of Obsession

“And if I tell you I don’t accept you? If I ask you to leave me alone from now on, you’ll do it?” I confronted him.

He gulped.

“Yes, I will. I’ll never force you if you don’t want me around, as long as you say it clearly and I feel you want it. But do you want me to honestly tell you what I feel every time you’re close to me?”

I raised my chin, waiting for the answer. It didn’t come as words, but as a maddening kiss which turned my thoughts to dust. Without thinking about it, I clung to his neck, and he gripped my waist and pulled me closed. I had missed him, now realizing just how much. Many hours of crying weren’t caused by fear, but by missing these kisses and touches.

He groaned through my lips and kneaded my skin in his fists.

“I feel you don’t want me to leave you alone at all, and I don’t plan on doing it. Something scared you, and I wish youcould trust me enough to tell me what it was, but I won’t force you. I just what you to know I never missed anyone until now. I never knew how it felt, even if I lost many important people in my life, but what I felt these days was more horrible than I thought. And I missed you most at night, when I remembered how it felt to sleep with you in my arms.”

We looked at each other and I tried to hold in my tears.

He pressed his forehead to mine.

“So, tell me. Tell me what you want to happen next. It’s your choice because you already know what I want. No games or tests this time.”

There wasn’t really anything to think about, I had known the answer ever since the afternoon when I’d realized Joshua had been to blame for everything. It was still dangerous, but I wasn’t afraid of that son of a bitch, and I trusted Shane would take care of him. Harris didn’t need that anger now, and I was going to tell him eventually, but now was not the time. I didn’t believe the story about Joshua’s brother, I didn’t accept to be influenced like that by Shane, even if he had helped me. I knew he wanted me to stay away from Harris, but I had already fought the distance enough.

I cupped his face in my palms and whispered over his lips:

“I needed time to figure out some… stuff. I reached the same shocking conclusion as you did, and after today… I don’t want anything else; I just want you.”

There were no other words needed as his lips promptly crashed against mine and he pulled me into his lap. After he pushed his chair back as far as it could go, his hands were everywhere on me. His mouth claimed mine and I moaned without being able to stop the sound, because I had missed it too much. He had missed it; I could feel it in every touch and squeeze, in the way he slowly whimpered when we separated to breathe.

“Katherine,” he whispered my name, his forehead pressed to mine, my heart close to exploding, “what did you do to me?” he continued with his eyes closed, and I closed mine as well.

“I think I should be the one to ask that question.”

I felt him smile, then he pulled back to look at me. There was a painful serosity in his eyes when he took a lock of my hair between his fingers.

“I’m sorry for what happened today. I promised you’d be safe, and that son of a bitch got to you again.”

I looked down to avoid him reading the fear in my eyes, or realize just how Joshua had really gotten to me.

“What are you going to do about it?”

“I don’t know, but he’s really lucky to be locked up right now. For some reason, they didn’t free him too. If he had gotten out the same time I did, I don’t know what I would have been capable of doing to him.”

Anger still burned inside him, I could feel it pulsing, even if he was trying to control it. I knew the reason Joshua was still locked up very well, but he wouldn’t hear about it for now, and I didn’t need to think about Harris as a criminal anymore.

“What you said then, in the parking lot, triggered everything. You made it seem as though you still wanted Amber.”

He closed his eyes and bumped his head into the headrest.

“I know, baby, that’s what I wanted to talk about these last few days. It was my fault, because I made it all sound so fucking wrong, and you didn’t give me time to explain. When I say “no” I meant to say I didn’t want her anymore, that she doesn’t interest me.”

It wasn’t that surprising now, but I still raised my eyebrows.

Harris sighed.

“Remember when I told you it’s complicated with her?”

I nodded.

“It’s not the first time I break up with her. We ended once a few months ago, but Amber… let’s just say she’s capable of a lot of shit when something doesn’t go her way.”

Completely confused, I asked for details.

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