Page 180 of Irreversible

One, two, three…

And it’s over.

When I come down from the high, I’m in ruins.

I feel blindsided.

By him.

By my own mutinous instincts.

My eyes close, and I slump forward against his chest as reality crashes into me. Noise outside the suite filters in. Heady beats from the club, patrons laughing and cheering.

Isaac slowly slides out, leaving a stinging ache behind as he situates my soaked-through underwear back into place.

I can’t move. I can’t look at him.

His touch isn’t the gentle caress I crave in the aftermath when he tugs my hair back, forcing our eyes to meet. “Feel better now?” A satisfied grin curls up his lips. “I know I do.”

My eyes prick with tears.

No, no, no.

What was I thinking?

What the hell possessed me to?—

I scramble off his lap.

Finding my bearings, I haul my bralette back up to cover my breasts. My sex pulsates, and my skin twinges from his nicks and bites. I feel color burning in my cheeks with a post-orgasm flush.

My control snapped—that wasn’t me.

Something inside me broke, and all I can manage is, “That isneverhappening again.”

“You know that line about saying never.” His eyebrow arches as he settles back against the couch and yanks his jeans up his hips, leaving the belt hanging open. “When you change your mind, I’m at your service.”

I stare at him, at his disheveled dark hair, half matted to his forehead and the rest sticking up in all directions. Neon-red nail marks glow on his neck, his lips puffy and kissed raw. “Until you’re ready to drop the act and show me who you really are…please, just stay away.”

He tugs up his zipper. “It’s not an act. This is who I’ve always been.”

“No. You told me things, you opened up?—”

“To awall.”

I shake my head, biting back a sob. “To me.”

Isaac glances away, scrubbing a hand down his face.

No response.

I can’t read him. I don’tknowhim.

Gritting my teeth, I readjust my skirt, furious with myself for being weak. I feel like a sex-starved hooker. His release drips down my inner thighs, another shocking reminder of what I’ve done. I was literallyon the clockwhen I jumped in his lap and rode him until I saw stars.

This…stranger.

Oh, my God.

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