“And are you attracted to me?” He yanked her forward against him so she could feel his hard dick and Nova gasped.
That single sound seemed to unleash everything Dex had been holding back. He moved, flipping her over so fast it took a second to figure out she was on her back now with him above her.
“Are you attracted to me?” he asked again, pressing his hips into hers, studying her eyes as if he could see the truth there.
Nova couldn’t lie anymore. “Yes.”
Dex glared down at her. Somehow her answer had only irritated him. “Then why do we have to be just friends? Can’t we be friends who also do something about their attraction for each other?”
Really, after everything that had happened, he was still interested in her? Was he some kind of masochist?
Definitely shouldn’t have climbed on top of him.
“I don’t date,” she said, losing herself in those golden-brown eyes, in the curve of his lips, and the sharp cheekbones. “So, there’d be no point.”
“Friends with benefits doesn’t require dating.” Dex leaned down and dragged his lips against her neck, licking the sweat from her skin.
Nova couldn’t breathe. All she could think about was how he was above her – between her legs. It had been too long since anyone had touched her like this, and never anyone who actually seemed to care about her. “Dex, I can’t.”
His growl made her shiver, and Nova felt her control slipping. She was going to lose her mind if she didn’t get him off of her soon.
“Why not? I just want to understand.”
Nova forced herself to look at him, to see what was going through his head. Something in his gaze softened and she reached up to hold his face.
His skin was so soft and smooth.
She rubbed her thumbs against his cheeks and the way he closed his eyes to lean into her touch made her fucking heart break.
“I can’t act like I don’t have feelings for you,” she whispered, feeling the tears burn as the truth of that kicked her in the gut. “Pretending we could be friends with benefits is almost as stupid as pretending we could just be friends.”
Dex leaned down and softly kissed her forehead. “Would dating me really be so bad?”
No.
The confidence in that thought was terrifying.
Dex was Nephilim which meant she should be fucking scared of him just for that. The power he had could kill her in an instant, and yet he’d done nothing to scare her ever since the first moment she’d laid eyes on him.
He’d killed for her.
At every turn, he’d protected her, and Nova didn’t think it was just because he thought she was attractive.
“I might have to leave,” she told him, not sure what else to say. There was no other reason that even made sense in this situation. “I can’t make serious life choices based on a guy I really like, and I don’t think I could leave you if we started dating.”
Finally, the truth
Nova closed her eyes, hating herself for having to fucking be like this.
“I can respect that.” Dex shifted, pulling her into a sitting position beside him. He ran his hand through his hair with a sigh and then adjusted his sweats.
Nova immediately got up and grabbed her boots, yanking them on.
She wanted to cry, but not in front of him. She was done breaking down in front of Dex.
Grabbing her coat and keys, she checked the time. Sun was already down, and she hadn’t even noticed.
“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry,” she told him, zipping up her coat. “But I’m a fucking mess, and there’s no reason you should have to deal with that.”