Page 21 of You Belong With Me

But Wyn…

She’s different somehow and I don’t understand why. I wish I fucking knew.

I drag my lips across her flushed cheek, and her breath hitches, her eyes fluttering closed. Like a magnet, my hand finds her breast. I squeeze it, my thumb teasing the tight peak. God, the bliss of her body…

“Why are you doing this to me?” I ask, my voice hitching. It’s a rare moment of weakness for me, but I need to understand. I need to knowwhy. Why is she determined to lead me down a path that can only lead to our mutual destruction?

“I’m not doing anything,” she answers.

I want to laugh at that. When I lunged at her a second ago, instead of fear, I saw a brief flicker of excitement in her eyes. This bitch knows exactly what she’s doing.

My lips brush over hers and with a growl, I kiss her, my tongue pushing past her moist lips. I swallow her moan, drinking it in, taking it into my dark soul. I plunge my fingers into her hair and cup the back of her head, pulling her closer, kissing her deeper.

Take care of my girl.

My cousin’s words echo in my head, and I jerk back, breaking the kiss abruptly. Her eyes fly open, and she looks up at me with a question in her eyes. I straighten and move off her, standing.

Fuck.

I can’t do this.

The guilt is too heavy.

Raking my hand over my face, I turn away from her. “I have to go,” I say out loud, more to myself than to her. I walk over and grab my shoes, then head for the door.

“Fucking coward.”

You’d think she’d say something like that as an insult. Fling it at me in anger as I walk out the door. But it’s worse than that.Her voice is low, almost like she’s saying it to herself, and that’s what gets me. The quiet conviction in her voice.

She isn’t wrong.

I’m afraid of how she makes me feel.

Deathlyafraid.

I say nothing, shoes in my hands, and walk out the door. As it clicks shut behind me, I close my eyes and pull in a lungful of briny air. All I need to do is takeonestep forward, then another, but, fuck, why is it so hard?

Opening my eyes, I clench my jaw and walk to my car before I change my mind and head right back into Wyn’s apartment. Physical distance is the only way I can combat this intense need for her—and even then, she’s inside my head every minute of every day.

This is addiction. I’m a fucking junkie when it comes to Wyn.

As I start my engine, I slam my fist against my steering wheel and scream“Fucking idiot!”at the top of my lungs. My hand is still bloody, and it stings as my palm collides with the steering wheel, but I want the pain. I crave it. It’s a split-second distraction from my fucked up reality.

With a jerk of the wheel, I peel out and head to Rush House. I find Christian, Jackson, and Roman in the study, standing around, talking about something. They go quiet when I walk in, each one of them turning to me.

“Yo!” Christian says. “You haven’t been answering your texts. Where’s Gabriel?”

I lift my chin. “After we finished up at the Sheriff’s Station I dropped him off at his mom’s place.”

Christian looks confused, one brow shooting up. “Wait, didn’t she move?”

“Not until next week.”

Jackson and Roman start moving toward the door, ready to head over. As they walk out, Roman stops to slap me on theshoulder. He glances at my bloody knuckles. “You doin’ okay? This has to be a shock for you.”

I nod, looking down at the polished wood floor. “Yeah, no joke.” I glance up at my best friend. “This shit is…” I shake my head.

I don’t know what to feel. All I know is that Gabriel coming back complicates things with Wyn. I feel like such a selfish bastard admitting that, even to myself, but it’s the truth.

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