Page 45 of Captured Heart

“There.” I step back and turn around.

“Thanks.”

I keep my back to her, but the mirror on her dressing table betrays me. Through the reflection, I see her shimmy out of the dress. The backless design makes it obvious that she isn’t wearing a bra, yet somehow it still surprises my brain when I catch a glimpse of her firm, supple tits.

I stiffen, not even breathing for a few seconds. This is almost five years of deprivation. And in that time, I haven’t seen a woman this exposed. I haven’t touched one, and I sure as fuck haven’t tasted one.

And the urge to taste her grows stronger every time I see her. It’s unbearable now. I want to bury my head between her legs and taste her sweetness, savor her climax when it lines my tongue.

I drag a hand over my jaw, clenching it tightly because I’m so fucking hard right now. My dick is straining against the zipper, and all I want to do is spin around, flip her on her back, and have my way with her.

It takes an excruciating amount of restraint to shove that thought out of my head because I am right on the verge of acting on it. Instead, I take a deep breath and force my gaze away.

“I need to use the bathroom,” I rasp.

I haul my ass out of there before I do something stupid, locking myself in the bathroom until it’s safe...for her.

When I return to her room ten minutes later, she’s sitting on the edge of the bed, toying with her chain. I know that means she’s overthinking something, and I don’t want to open myself up to questions I’d rather not answer.

“Want me to take that off for you?” I ask to keep the conversation at surface level.

She shakes her head. “I never take it off. My dad gave it to me for my birthday a few weeks ago. He said it’s good luck, an old family thing. It was my grandmother’s, but he refashioned thelocket.” Her fingers drift to the pendent, and she smiles faintly. “He told me as long as I wore it, I’d always have power over the evil in this world. I guess I just held onto that.”

“You’re a sentimental fool, Katie.”

“Just me?”

Her eyes zone in on the shoelace bracelet on my wrist before moving up, her gaze locking on mine. For a long time, I say nothing, and she says nothing. She just stares, silently asking for...I don’t know...An explanation? An admission? Confirmation that I want something more?

I can’t give her that, so I choose the coward’s way. I pull down the sleeve of my sweatshirt to cover the lace and pretend we both didn’t see what we just saw.

She sighs, taking that as another rejection, and climbs into bed. “You can go now. I’m fine.”

My feet stay rooted to the floor because I’m not ready to leave her yet. “I’ll stay until you fall asleep.”

“That’s not necessary.”

Ignoring her protest, I kick off my shoes and stretch out on the bed beside her, lying flat on my back.

“You never ask, do you?” she says, her tone teasing despite the weariness in her voice. “And yet you always accept no for an answer. It’s quite a conundrum.” She lets out a heavy sigh, but it’s loaded with...something.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. It’s just a little weird with you...lying there. I’m exhausted, but I feel so much pressure to fall asleep now.”

“Think of something to distract you.”

“Hm?” She looks up at the ceiling with a thoughtful expression. “Why do chemists like bad puns?”

That came out of nowhere. “What?”

“Chemists?” she repeats, trying to keep her face completely serious, but I see a smile tug at the corner of her lip. “Why do chemists like bad puns?”

I groan because I know her well enough to know what’s coming. “No, no. We’re not doing this now. It’s late. Find something else to distra—”

“Because they’re always in their element.”

The joke is terrible, objectively awful, but the way she laughs. It’s not as loud as usual, subdued by alcohol and exhaustion. But it still strikes a chord inside me. When I told her I wanted to go back to how things were between us, this is exactly what I meant. I hated that she was so cold and distant to me, but hopefully, we can put that weird tension behind us.

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