Page 70 of The Liar's Reckoning

He melts into the embrace, sighing and digging his face into the place where my shoulder meets my neck. I run my fingers through his hair and continue rubbing circles on his back. He digs his nails into my shirt and hangs on tight.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers.

I ruffle his hair. “No, I’m sorry that happened. I’m glad you texted.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“You were the only person I wanted to see, and I can’t explain it, but this was exactly what I wanted. Just this. While I was waiting for you to show up, I was praying you’d hug me.”

“Silas…”

“I know it’s pathetic. I know I should be pretending we don’t know each other, but I think about you all the time. I can’t stop.”

My hand stills in his hair.

He begins to pull away, and I’m so stunned, I let him move a few inches before stopping him from going too far. We’re staring at each other, and he apologizes again.

“Silas, what do you need?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why me?”

“I already told you I don’t know.”

“But I don’t believe you,” I say.

His gaze drops to my mouth, and a pained look crosses his face. He swallows and ducks his head. He moves his hands to my hips like he means to leverage himself away. This time, I let him.

I’m desperate and confused. Desperately confused. “We can’t…”

“I know,” Silas responds quickly.

“I was going to say be anything.”

“I know that, too.”

“Why would you want any part of that?” I ask.

“I think I might be a little self-destructive,” he says, bending over his knees again. His hair falls into his face, a wreck from what my fingers and his hat did to it. “But I know you’re not like me. You have a plan and shit. And you’re a surprisingly good guy, at least for now.”

“What does that even mean?”

“It means who knows what’s gonna happen to you once you start spending half your time in DC. They say power corrupts. And you’re still pretty innocent as far as I can tell.”

A huff of a disbelieving laugh escapes me. “I’ve had sex almost ten times now,” I tell him.

“Oh, well, then. Never mind.” He laughs, and it feels a little like a miracle.

“Porn is even involved. It’s very kinky.”

“Ugh. Stop. I don’t want to think about it.”

I smile and lean back on the couch. “I need coffee.”

“There’s not any here?”

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