Page 105 of Hold Me Today

“Great minds think alike,” I mutter, my frustration boiling deep. “It’s ridiculous. They roped you into their own mess instead of behaving like goddamn adults.”

Like she’s wanting to sootheme—because that’s Mina to a T, always looking out for others—she trails her fingers gently over my arm. “I may have gotten the brunt of their crap, but I’m not the only one they messed up in the head. Katya’s living in North Carolina and only comes home for the holidays. Dimitri is in Manhattan, and unless we go to him, he doesn’t step foot back in Boston. The three of us all have our own issues, and I’m so tired—so incredibly tired—of being one of my parents’ tried-and-true missiles to hurt each other.”

No wonder she clung to Effie so tightly growing up. Our family may not have been well-off—we may not have had the newest toys for Christmas and we may not have taken a family vacation until Effie and I were well into our twenties—but there was never any doubt that we wereloved.

“Did you and your mom get into it? Is that why you left?”

Mina gives a short nod that rustles her hair against my chin. “I had to get out of there. For as long as I can remember, your mom has always been there for me—more than mine ever has. I’m sorry if picking me up from there was uncomfortable for you.”

It breaks my goddamn heart to hear her apologize for wanting something we should all expect from our families: comfort, love, acceptance. “Ermione, if you want to see my parents daily, I don’t give a damn.” I give her a gentle squeeze. “Not that I wouldn’t mind having you come to me instead.”

Her answer is lost to the crackle and pop of the firewood.

She shifts in my arms, turning around until she’s resting on her knees and her hands are closing over my shoulders. My gaze moves north from her curvy thighs to the billowy T-shirt she borrowed from me. It’s at least three sizes too large, and when she slowly lowers her hands to the hem to pull it over her head, it’s finally the perfect size because it’s gone, and all that’s left is smooth, soft skin.

My cock hardens immediately. Perks up to full attention when Mina thumbs her nipple, rolling the peaked nub between her thumb and forefinger.Gamóto, but I’ve never seen a more beautiful sight.

She cups the weight of her breasts, squeezing softly, plucking at her nipple once more.

“I’m gonna need you to step aside and let me do business.” My voice emerges deep and throaty, even to my own ears. I ignore the keening desperation for us to take it to the next level, to show her that when we fuck, we’re really making love. But if she needs this physical connection right now after cutting open all those old wounds of hers, I’m more than willing to take up the task.

My hands glide from her hips to the small of her back, tracing up the line of her spine, until I’m palming her shoulder blades and encouraging her to thrust her chest out. She cries out the moment I graze my teeth over her hardened nipple. Her fingers sink into my hair, her nails dragging along my scalp, and the pain’s as good as the pleasure.

I bury a grin when her lush hips push forward, seeking contact. One hand to her waist, I keep her in place as my tongue swirls over the rosy-brown nipple. Again and again, until she’s writhing even as she kneels before me. She cups my jaw with the sweetness of a lover, feverishly rakes her nails down the back of my neck when I suck, hard.

This moment, this woman . . . There’s no one else for me.

Now, my brain urges,tell her that you love hernow.

Pulling back, my breath wafts over her breast and Mina shivers.I love you. I cup the back of her thighs, thumbs brushing the underside of her ass. She sways forward, naked from the waist up.I love you. Because I’m a goddamn sap, I press one palm to her chest and measure the heart rate speeding along.

It sprints like mine, tripping over itself as her breaths come shallow and quick.

I love you.

“I’m tired of feeling like I’m not good enough,” Mina whispers with her lids squeezed shut and her heart pounding a mile a minute under my hand. “For the first time in my life, I feel like I’mdoing the right thing. Not because I’m running from my parents and trying to play rebel to their every demand, but because it’s whatIwant.”

An unfamiliar edge to her tone raises the hair on arms. A sixth sense. Aspideysense, if you will, similar to the one I felt moments before I lifted Brynn’s veil and found my ex-fiancée nibbling on her bottom lip and shooting harried glances at the pews.

Good news: I know Mina isn’t about to marry someone else.

Bad news: the unease punching its way through my organs is not subsiding, not even a little andespeciallynot when Mina begins to drum her fingers on the outside of her thigh.

I lean my back against the edge of the mattress, tearing my gaze from those tapping fingers to her naked tits and then up to her stark,restlessexpression. The question leaves me on a rough exhalation: “Why would you be playing rebel?”

“Because”—the tapping picks up speed—“they’ve always wanted me to find someone likeyou.”

The heat dissipates just like that. “I’m gonna need more, Mina. What doessomeone like meentail?”

Her gaze falls to the carpet between us and her hands come up to cover her naked breasts, and I practicallyfeelher retreat within herself.Goddammit.Under her breath, she mutters, “Someone good.”

My fingers clench tight into fists at my sides. “Becausethat’sa turn-off, having someone at your side who puts you first.”

“Nick, it’s not that—”

“Then tell me.”

Her sharp intake of breath lifts her shoulders, and my gaze catches on the words I picked out for her.Without the night there are no stars. Ironic, because it feels like we’re going straight into a period of darkness.

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