Page 157 of Beyond the Cottage

They both went harder, wilder. This was supposed to be about pleasure, but his mind grew crazed from emotion. Barriers he’d carefully built became porous, letting out words he had no business speaking.

“Is this enough for you?” he demanded, arm furiously jerking.

“Never.”

“Did you miss me?”

“Yes,Anse.”

“How much?”

“Too much.More than anything.”

“Good! Now fucking come for me.”

He heard her fingers slide faster. Her moan became a squeak. They both tensed, faces contorted, coming silently together. Lips pressed tight together, he released into her silk drawers with a full-body shudder.

The sound of their breathing filled the room. They looked at each other, dazed. Ansel dropped the damp fabric and caged her between his arms. Helpless to stop himself, he touched his forehead to hers. He was more doomed than he’d realized.

“I don’t know how to make this work,” he said.

“We’ll figure it out.”

“How?”

She didn’t respond.

Ansel pulled away. He stuffed himself back in his trousers and returned to the chair, hands dangling between his knees. Endless seconds passed in the quiet room.

“I can’t be around you, Gretta. It’s too hard.”

“Don’t say that.”

He glared at the silver bars. “I promise I won’t do anything to compromise your job or the repellent. We’ll find you an office somewhere else and communicate through courier. But I can’t see you.”

More quiet.

“No,” she said. “Not again.”

Her words shredded him. She may have truly missed him, may still want to be friends in some limited capacity, but even if the option existed, he couldn’t handle it anymore. When she tired of him or found someone else, he wouldn’t survive it. He’d been a fool to believe otherwise.

“You’re wonderful, Gret,” he said. “You’ll make other friends if you try.”

“They wouldn’t be you.”

Forcing a smile, he stood. “Indeed not. I’m sure they’ll be an upgrade from a shady dust thief like me.”

He went to unlock the door.

With a sharp breath, she launched off the desk and grabbed him.

Panic rising, Gretta crushed his hand, dragging him close. She coiled her arms around his waist and clung. His chest rumbled as he clung back.

She had no idea what she was doing. She only knew the last two weeks had been harder than the previous fourteen years. Thinking about what that meant terrified her, but not as much as letting him go.

She pressed her face against his warm body. “You aren’t leaving me. You may as well drop it.”

He grunted in frustration, but his arms tightened around her. A good enough response for her. She ran through possibilities in her head, trying to unsnarl the knots she’d created. If she could go back, she’d rip up Nat’s draft herself. She didn’t care anymore if that made her selfish.

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