Page 111 of All Our Secrets

“Isn’t that a daily thing when your eyes roll back and greet your brain?”

She laughed, then stopped abruptly. “But Silas?”

“Mm?”

“Why are we here when the house is clearly not finished?”

My smile waned. “Because it’s where I’m sleeping tonight.”

“Did your mom show up at your place again?” she asked.

“Yeah, but how did you know about her?” Then it clicked. “Sarah?”

Peyton shrugged. “I don’t get it. You got so upset about my relationship with my mother, but what about yours?”

Well, fuck. Peyton had a point, but I wasn’t interested in addressing it. “It’s different.”

“I call bullshit.”

“It is because I don’t let her run over me anymore. I’ll give her a place to sleep when she’s in town, but that’s it.”

“I’m sure there’s more to it.”

“You’re right.”

Her smile favored her left side. I found it adorable. “I get it. It’s hard to say no, even when we have every right to after all the things they’ve said and done to us, but maybe you should practice what you preach.”

“I can’t stand staying at my own home when Faith’s there. She talks like she knows me, and that fucking pisses me off.”

“Yeah.” Peyton nodded.

“I’ll give her money for a hotel room, then she’ll be on her way. She’s always on her way.” The words tumbled from my lips naturally. If anyone could understand, it was my Peyton.

“Yeah, flaky parents do that, don’t they? Step into our lives and leave as quickly as they came.”

My chest tightened. Her words weren’t spoken for me alone. And it was right there that I knew, no matter what, Peyton and I would always be in sync.

“It hurt at first, but every time after that is a little easier,” I rambled.

“Yeah.” Tears dripped off Peyton’s chin. “It probably helps that we eventually find people who don’t leave.”

I disappeared on her once, but I would never be that idiot again. I’d spend my life proving I’d never withhold a truth from her again.

_______

Peyton’s legs wrapped around my waist as I grasped her hair in my fist. The salty taste of her skin branded itself on my lips, etched itself on my heart. I kissed the tip of her chin as she threw her head back.

I’d never tire of touching her, existing like this. With her.Inside her.

On a blow-up mattress in a wrecked room, I thrust deep. Her throaty moans swept me under her spell. Her every reaction, every sigh, every blissful curve of her lips and crinkle around her eyes as she climaxed. I wanted it all. Over and over. On repeat.

The build-up swirling inside me came to a swift end when she grabbed my neck and pulled me down for a soul-stealing kiss. Buried inside her, I let go with a groan. As the aftershocks rippled through me, she traced her fingers across my prickled skin, making the magic she had over me that much harder to control.

I dragged my mouth down her neck, then back up toward her ear. “You know, I want to live here, die here, buried inside you.”

She shivered beneath me, but before she could respond, T.J. woke crying.

I climbed off her. “I can get him.”

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