Page 91 of Lunar Crest University

My body shakes with panic, fear, arousal. It’s not what I expected him to say, and I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to speak properly when he’s pulling up my sweater to kiss below my navel. My fingers are still knotted in his hair, and the warmth of his mouth against my skin makes my core flutter.

“Why?” I rasp.

“Because I’ve been bad,” he murmurs lowly. “Because I want to show you I won’t lie to you again. I’ll be good.”

His lips pepper kisses along the waistband of my jeans, and as his fingers flick the button open to pull them down slightly, Ijolt. My grip on his hair tightens as he kisses lower, and then, his eyes flash up to mine.

Think, Finley.

“Use me,” he continues, his tongue darting out to taste my skin as he presses tiny kisses all over my stomach. “Whatever your heart desires,amor.”

The fog is clouding my brain, as it usually does, and my weakened state begs me to succumb to it. I’m already broken. Could this really make it any worse? I won’t feel better or worse. I’ll still just feel…likethis. But I’d be giving in, and he’d be winning.

He doesn’t deserve it.

“Baby, please.”

Fuck. Fuck him. Fuck it all.

Fuck it.

I don’t have anything else to lose. I never had anything to lose in the first place. He was never mine. This all wasnevermine to lose. He’s a murderer down on his knees, begging for me, and I’m soaked because of it. He killed people to protect me, and I’mdrippingfrom it.

The anger in me is enthralled at the thought of punishing him. I could get everything my core isbeggingfor and give him nothing at all. That’s a punishment, right? I could get off as many times as I want but not let him come once. The thought of seeing him squirm and beg for me lights a fire deep within my belly.

I yank his head back, breaking his assault of kisses on my tummy.

“Take off my pants.”

Chapter Thirty-Three

LUCA

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 14TH, 2023

Idon’t think I’ve ever cried over anything before.

I’m not usually a sad person. I resort to anger because there are so many different ways to take your anger out until you feel better. With sadness, it lingers. It makes your chest hurt and flutter and all that stupid shit I don’t like. But seeing how destroyed Finley was last night as she yelled at me to get out of the room, I was fucking sad.

I still see it in her eyes as she looks down at me, but now, it’s mixed with anger. She’s hurt and she’s mad at me, which she has every right to be.

After seeing her interact with my family all night, I couldn’t keep it in anymore. The guilt was eating away at me so badly, I felt nauseous. Seeing her with them, I realized that maybe, Iwascapable of feeling. I don’t know what it means—I’ve never felt like this about anyone in my entire life. All I know is that she doesn’t deserve for me to keep the truth from her anymore. She needs to know, even though I know there’s a chance of her leaving when she finds out—or running away screaming.

I won’t be surprised either way.

But I freaked. I saw the detachment as she looked at me this morning, the wariness as I came closer to her every time, and it fucking killed me.

I don’t want her to leave.

I realize that now. I should’ve realized it sooner, but I’m a fucking idiot.

Now, I’m down on my knees in front of her, begging for her in any way I can get her. She’s in tears as she gapes down at me, her fingers threaded in my curls, but I see the flush to her cheeks, and I feel the way her thighs keep pressing together at my touch.

I know her body. It’s mine.

“Take off my pants.”

Her words are like music to my ears.

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