Page 55 of Dissension

Panting, Kara takes a step away from him. “I’m not one of your sluts.” He’s been drinking, he’s been doing cocaine. It’s making him vile. He’s not himself. Or is this when he isextrahimself? “And I’m not lying.” She sniffs angrily, her feelings choking her. “I don’twantyou to be mine, because I’dnever be able to keep you.”

His mouth is in a firm line and there’s a red mark blooming on his cheek. Dieter reaches for her-

“Don’t touch me!” She shrieks it, piercing and full of the searing pain inside of her.

He stops moving, hand falling to his side. “What do you want me to do, Kara?” His tone is indecipherable.

“I’m getting a cab home.”

He pulls out his phone, “I’ll order it for you.”

“No. Just. Please. Leave me alone. Go back to whatever it is that you do, but leave me out of it.”

He doesn’t leave her alone until her ride arrives. Stupidly making sure she gets in alright.Fucker.

She goes home crying, because she never wanted Gale to be right about him and how he would weasel his way into her emotions.

It’s late when she gets home and puts herself to bed. Limbs heavy with misery, Kara huddles into her sheets and tries to forget the world. She tries to forget her public stupidity over that terrible man that her life revolves around. She doesn’t want to think about Dieter,about Nick, not about either of them, pulling her in two very different directions.

She sleeps fitfully.

Nothing could have prepared her for what came next.

Something gently soothes her out of her slumber, waking her slowly in the dark. Someone is stroking her hair in a calming fashion, their body curled around her own. Panic almost jolts her out of bed until she realizes she knows the gunmetal ringson those hands. The faded scent of green apple, fresh pine, and tonka beans washes over Kara and she leaves her eyes closed.

“Hey,” he murmurs against the nape of her neck, kissing her skin softly.

Sight isn’t required to know who is beside her, whose hand is on her hip.

“Do you want me to leave?” His voice is soft, barely an utterance.

His lips are soft, brushing up her neck like those of a ghost. He presses his tongue to her pulse point, tasting her heart. “I didn’t want to stay out without you.”

Kara can’t breathe. She clutches his hand at her hip and tangles their fingers together. She doesn’t vocalize what she wants.

All the hurt from earlier seems to be a dull ache in the wake of his intimate presence.

Those soft lips make their way to the shell of her ear, nipping and tasting softly. His nose buries into her hair and he inhales deeply, a slight growl at the edge of his exhale. In a swift movement, he rises up over her side, angling for the front of Kara’s face. First, his nose dances over her cheekbone, delicately, like he’s scenting her skin.

She shivers, feeling hot, lying docile beneath him. Her body is sleepy, languid and she wants him even though the very idea of him hurts.

As he moves past her cheekbone, he makes his way down and Kara nearly dies in anticipation. His lips brush the corner of hers, kissing there, his tongue licking delicately at the seam. Kara feels like her soul is screaming inside, because he’s-

“Forgive me,” he’s whispering against her mouth, his voice that sultry submissiveness that tightens her insides like nothing else.

Kara feels her face twist in sadness as a shudder passes through her. She tries to turn her face away from him. “But, you’re not s-sorry.”

He doesn’t answer, which leads her to believe she hit the nail on the head. He isn’ttrulysorry; he’s sorry that he caused her to walk away from him when that wasn’t part of his plan.

Don’t get close to him, Gale cautions urgently in her mind.Never get close to him. He will play you like a violin.

Clothes, slowly falling away. Sheets rustling as skin meets skin. Gasps, soft noises of pleasure. With confident hands, he carefully spreads her legs, lying between them. Face to face, and he kisses her like it’s the last kiss she’ll ever have.

As they kiss, fusing together, they reach between each other’s thighs. Languid, unhurried. Exploring. He fills her hand as Kara strokes him, feeling the slickness at his tip. Gathering it, spreading it across his length. His fingers are low, between her swollen lips. Playing with her eager nub, flicking it, making her writhe against him. His skill almost makes her come undone, bringing her to the edge before drawing her back.

Every shudder, every gasp, Kara consumes it all. Committing it to memory. She wants to remember him this way, forever if she can.

“You’re a damn tease,” she tells him, biting his lower lip.

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