I gently press my lips to his hair, a tender gesture that seems to relax him further. He exhales harshly against crook of my neck before pulling me tighter against his chest. I have to stand on my tiptoes with how hard he is hugging me.
I can feel his heart pounding in his chest as he breathes deeply.
After what feels like forever, he pulls back but doesn’t release me.
I stare up at him. “Did you eat?”
He sighs and leans down to rest his forehead against mine. “Why did you come?”
My heart starts pounding. “W-we had plans.”
“I mean in my life.”
I freeze. He leans back. He is staring at me with an unreadable expression. Too shaken by his words, I try to understand what he was saying. Does he regret being with me? The mere possibility sends waves of insecurity against my fragile heart.
Was I too much for him? I shouldn’t have overwhelmed him with my affection when I knew he was a very private person. Maybe my hugging him when he was having a bad day was a wrong move.
I take a shuddering breath, attempting to mask the hurt. My voice wavers slightly. “I-I didn’t mean to disrupt anything. I just... I care about you. If I’m, you know, too much, I can... I can give you space.” I bite my lip, hoping he’d see the sincerity in my eyes.
A heavy silence hangs in the air. Then he slowly shakes his head. “That’s the last thing I want.”
I’m baffled. Then Damian goes and confuses me by fisting my curls and drawing me close. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”
“L-like what?”
“I wasn’t supposed to get close.”
I gaze up at him frowning. I clasp his face with my palms. “What’s wrong, Damian? Did I do something wrong?”
“I’m not a good man.”
I shake my head vehemently. “That’s not true! You—”
“You don’t know me.”
“I do!”
He releases me suddenly. “Being with you is costing me too much.”
My heart thuds in my chest. “You’re leaving me?” My lips tremble as I ask.
“I should. Because if this goes any further, I’m not sure I’d be able to let you go.”
Taking hasty steps, I clutch his shirt with my desperate fingers. “Then don’t. I don’t want you to, Damian.”
“You don’t know what you’re asking for.”
I tilt my chin up. “I know what I want.”
He grips my chin. “What if the price of being with me is more than you bargained for?”
“Then I’ll find a way to pay it. Because you’re worth every damn bit of it.”
He captures my mouth with his demanding one. I let myself sink into the passionate kiss. Wanting, needing this reassurance after suffering the almost heart attack at the thought of him leaving me.
On a choked groan, I reach up and hook a hand around his neck to deepen the kiss. We kiss with a hot, wild urgency that was new. I drive my tongue between his lips and arch into his chest when I get his taste. It’s too much. All these sensations. I can’t keep still as his hands slide down my body. But just as quickly, he drags his mouth away, leaving me unsatisfied.
Groaning, I dig my nails in his chest. “Why do you stop all the time? Don’t you want me?”