Page 65 of No One But Us

His words trigger that ache in me, a reminder that one day I’ll be something he can only remember, a part of his past. I ignoreit.

“I think I can give you something better than that to remember,” I say, pushing him on his back and reaching into hisshorts.

“Fuck,” he groans as he springs free into myhand.

And something I’d guessed at, but wasn’t certain of, is affirmed. Hiscrayonis very,verylarge.

“No,” hewhispers.

I ignore him, circling him with my fingers before I shimmy lower, dragging a path down his chest on the way. I come to rest with my head between his legs, and he watches me with feverisheyes.

“This isn’t a good idea,” hepants.

“Really?” I ask, smiling up at him before my tongue flickers over him, capturing a hint of salt, darting away. He gasps, and I do it again. Light, inconsequential movements that have him writhing under me, grasping thesheets.

“Stop grabbing the sheets like that,” I tease, bringing my mouth back where itwas.

“It’s the only thing keeping me from grabbing your hair,” hepants.

I take as much of him as I can in my mouth, once, quickly, and then grin up at him. “Maybe I want you to grab myhair.”

“Fuuuuuuuccck,” he groans, and then he gives in, his hands burying in my hair as I continue, increasing the pressure, adding in all the little tricks Ryan so painstakingly taughtme.

“Stop,” he begs, even as he is arching toward me, his hands tighter in my hair. “I’m gonnacome.”

I increase the pace instead, and within seconds he is crying out, his hands digging into my scalp, his head thrownbackward.

It takes him nearly a minute to release his death grip on my hair. He pulls me toward him so I’m lying on his chest, which rises and falls like a raft atsea.

“That was amazing,” he whispers. “Like, completely fuckingamazing.”

I laugh. “Now are you glad I didn’tstop?”

“Yes,” he breathes. And then he pauses. “But Elle? I’m only going to say this once: I don’t ever want you to tell me how you got to be so good atthat.”

Chapter 38

ELLE

“You’re off tonight, right?”Max asks James the next day. “Come hang out at the bar, and we’ll head to Dewey once I’mdone.”

I smile, turn my face toward the sun, breathe in the smell of pine on the breeze. Last night changed things with us. We don’t feel like something that might just fade away now. We feel like the beginning of something that can onlygrow.

“I can’t,” says James. “I’m meeting someoneout.”

That’s all it takes for my sense of the world’s rightness to be wrenched away. I turn toward him sharply, the sun and breezeforgotten.

We are both off tonight, and we’d never discussed it, but I assumed we’d spend it together. Maybe I’ve done such a good job of pretending to be ambivalent that he didn’t realize it would matter to me. But either way, now I get to spend the day pretending it doesn’thurt.

“‘Someone’, huh? Must be a girl,” saysMax.

And my stomach sinks even lower. He wouldn’t. We haven’t laid out any ground rules, but surely he wouldn’t take someone else out. Except James doesn’t deny it. His glance toward me is quick and anxious, and then he tells Max to mind his ownbusiness.

I jump to my feet. “I’ll see you guyslater.”

I grab my purse from my room and have just reached the door when James grabs myarm.

“Are you okay?” heasks.

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