Page 52 of Kings Against the World

“I’m doing fine, Gallagher. I can separate fact from fiction. You’re not my boyfriend. We’re not really together. This is all make believe.” I’m gesturing between us as he closes the space that exists. He’s coming toward me in a fast stride that would have me backing off if I weren’t so stubborn.

The one thing he’s right about. Iamhardheaded anddostand my ground no matter what.

“All make believe, huh?” he scoffs in my face. “Then explain what happened last night.”

“You mean before you ran off because you couldn’t take it?” I taunt.

He chuckles. “I could take it. More likeItook mercy onyou.”

“Mercy on me? In what way?” I arch a brow as I ask.

What feels like a simple, basic question turns his chuckle into a full-blown laugh. It’s mocking and rude and loud enough to feel like it’s bouncing off the walls of the hotel room. The flush on my cheeks deepens as it goes on for a few seconds.

“No offense, Strauss,” he says. “But you’ve got a huge fucking stick up your ass. You’re so uptight, you’ve probably never done anything like that before. You’re so uptight, I just know you’ve never been…”

My mouth drops open, then I clamp it shut, hiding my offense. Teeth grinding together, I demand he continue despite knowing exactly what he was about to say.

“You’ve never been fucked right. You’ve probably never even let yourself enjoy it. It’s probably all function for you, like takinga piss or drinking water. It’s not about pleasure for you. I’d be surprised if you ever had a good time at anything in your life.”

The words are brutal and direct. They’re met with my silence.

Of everything he’s ever said to me, of everything anyone’s ever said to me, this leaves me immediately embarrassed. A rarity for me.

Mostly because… it’s true.

The men at the gym were to scratch an itch. It wasn’t about pleasure. It was about sating a human need and then moving on like it never happened.

Much of my adult life has been like that. Setting goals, working hard to achieve them, then moving onto the next. If it involved my family, then I was working hard to clean up their mess.

I have no hobbies, no real friends. Nothing in my personal life that’s for pleasure like most people do.

I’m an empty vessel in that regard. Basically a robot.

My silence seems to weigh on Ozzie, because he sighs and scrubs a hand across his bruised jaw.

“That was a low blow,” he mumbles. “I shouldn’t have said that, alright? I’m sure you’re the way you are for your own reasons.”

I still can’t bring myself to speak. I’ve slipped into a slight daze as I turn over Ozzie’s words about myself.

“Zoe,” he says, reaching out to palm my shoulder. His touch is warm and evocative, just as it’d been last night when we’d kissed. “Zoe, seriously… say something.”

I blink and meet his gaze. My pulse is racing as I draw my conclusion and realize what I need. I’m crossing into uncharted territory.

“Then do it,” I say finally, my tone quiet. “Then fuck me. Show me what I’m missing.”

Ozzie cracks a grin, almost laughing as if I’ve told a joke. It takes him a second longer to grasp that I’m not joking. I’m serious.

The muscle in his jaw bounces with the hard swallow he takes. He’s catching up, his brain processing what I’ve said.

He eases closer, holding my gaze, sending a shiver down my spine. “You want me to fuck you, Special Agent? You want me to have my dick in those guts, fucking you deep?”

“I want you to show me how it’s done,” I challenge.

“Yeah, and what else? What else do you want?” he asks, backing me up against the dresser drawers. He’s so close now, the tips of our noses touch as his face hovers over mine. His hand slides up my chest and snakes my throat. He brushes his lips against me. “What do you want done to you?”

My cheeks warm as it dawns on me what he’s asking.

He wants me to dirty talk with him. For me to drop the perfunctory act and have some imagination. Let loose for once.

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