Page 33 of Don't Fall

“Vulnerable and shit.” He smirks again. Damn sexy smirk. And damn Drea pointing out how long it’s been since I sat on a penis. I want to sit on a penis. And I’m looking right at its owner. “Yep, that wall is strong and sturdy. No way are you letting anything in.” He chuckles.

“You can laugh at that all you want. The wall has served me well,” I huff.

“I can see that,” he admits thoughtfully, taking another step toward me. I don’t know which jars me more, having him agree with me or standing so unbearably close to him that I can smell his cologne. “In fact, I’m kind of counting on it.”

“You are?” My voice is some sort of wheezy whisper I can’t blame on anything except my shot nerves. My cup of coffee, my sweet, sacred coffee, is hanging abandoned in midair, my fingers hardly strong enough to hold the handle anymore.

“I am.” Another step. Inches. Inches of hot breath and intoxicating cologne are all that’s keeping us apart now. “Don’t let me in, Tess.”

“My heart?” Just breathy words now. But words nonetheless. “You’re not getting anywhere near it.”

“Good.” His face tilts slightly to the side, coming down closer to mine. “But everything else...is mine.” I barely even register his words as his lips move in to meet mine. He kisses me softly at first, caressing my skin with his perfect mouth. Steadily, the intensity mounts, until his hands are gripping me tightly to him, arms wrapped around my body, engulfing me completely. His lips move more frantically, crushing mine until he’s invading my mouth and lighting a fire in my core only one thing could possibly tame.

He was so right. There’s no way in hell either of us is getting any rest tonight.

Lane

I think it’s safe to say, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing anymore. Maybe having your life go so completely off the rails will do that, make you lose sight of all direction, willing to take any path which leads away from the destruction, even when the path will likely end in more chaos. I don’t care. Haven’t cared in months. Everything I thought I wanted turned out to be bullshit and lies. Fog and mirrors. And tonight, for the first time in what feels like forever, the thing I want is real.

Tessa is the realest thing I think I’ve ever had in my life. She’s blunt and outspoken, and somehow still guarded, always hiding behind that shield. But I can see her. She lets me see her.

Tonight, seeing isn’t enough anymore. I need to touch. Need to feel for myself that she’s as real as she seems. Need to hold her. Breathe her in. Trace my mouth over her soft skin and savor her until I’ve memorized every inch of her.

Because the realest thing I’ve ever had in my life is fleeting. I can’t keep her. This path that I’m on, this wandering around lost in the dark, it’s mine to see through. Alone. She can’t walk it with me. Even if she does shine one hell of a light while she’s here.

---