Page 34 of Because of Me

I swallow down the lump rapidly forming in my throat and dart my tongue along my lower lip before dragging my gaze back up to Amira’s face. Her cheeks are bright pink, but instead of covering up, she drops her eyes down to her breasts then up to me. She shimmies her shoulders, making the robe drop away further.

“You’re such a man.”

“Can you blame me, Cupcake?”

“Ugh.” Amira scoffs as she readjusts her robe, but the hot pink of her blush lingers on her cheeks.

Taking a chance, I cross the room.

“We should … talk,” I all but growl as I move closer. Amira backs against the wall, and I shove my hands into my pockets to keep them to myself. I lean into her, careful not to let our bodies touch. “Because I cannot handle this much longer.”

“Handle what?” Amira’s gasp is breathy and reminds me of how she moaned my name while she rode my hand. I want to hear it again, over and over and over. Blood flows south at the thought.

“Holding myself back. Keeping myself from touching you, showing you how deeply yours I am and always will be.”

Her messy bun flops against the wall as she shakes her head. “Ella’s not here.”

“No.”

“So you don’t have to pretend—”

“Don’t have to pretend what, Cupcake? Nothing about this is fake to me.” My heart thumps so hard it might leap out of my chest. I let my head drop, resting my forehead on the wall as I suck in a deep breath. Then, with a groan, I push my body into hers, grinding my firm length into her before pulling away. “That is not fake.”

She’s silent, staring down at the fraction of a gap between us. And fuck, was that too much? I take a step back, but reach between us to tilt Amira’s chin up to face me.

“Why do you think I agreed to this, Amira? I’m obsessed with you, and I never had the fucking balls to show it. I took the first chance I saw to be close to you. But I’m done messing about, and I know you feel this too.”

“It’s not real though,” she protests. “It’s just … a by-product of living together. Sharing a bed.”

“No, Cupcake. This is very real to me, and I need you to understand that. If this is all fake to you, fine. Use me however you need. As your wedding date, as your boyfriend, as your own personal sex toy. I will lap up every second I get to spend with you, but you need to know why I’m here. I said yes for very selfish reasons.”

I brush my thumb against her lower lip, holding her chin steady and leaning in.

“Very. Selfish,” I whisper into her mouth. “And for very selfish reasons, I’m going to need you to tell me to stop now.”

“Don’t.”

AMIRA

Noah crowds into me, pressing me against the wall without touching my body at all. And I feel every centimetre of the gap between us. I feel it in the warmth of his breath against my skin. I feel it in the searing heat of his fingertips as he holds my chin. I feel it as he gives in to temptation and admits what I’ve been wondering since he agreed to move in.

This isn’t fake. Whatever it is, it’s real.

As real as the warmth that flooded my chest when he handed me the coffee he so clearly made for himself. As real as the desire that pooled below the waistband of my shorts when I walked out of the room and saw him wearing grey fucking sweatpants. As real as the throbbing in my core, the desperate need for some kind of release.

“I’m going to need you to tell me to stop now,” he all but growls directly into my mouth. I don’t want him to. I need him to keep going. I need him to unleash and show me.

“Don’t,” I whimper out. I wish I sounded more confident, but my chest is heaving and my skin is crawling with need. Lava pools deep in my belly and I squeeze my thighs together in a vain attempt to ease the pressure that’s building.

I feel ready to implode at the thought of him. At the thought of being under him.

But he pulls away. “Sorry,” he mumbles as he runs a hand down his face. “I … I thought … fuck.”

He thought I meantdon’t, as in,stop. But God I meant the exact opposite.

“No,” I say as I rake in heavy breaths. “That’s not what I meant.”

Instead of telling him, I show him. Delicately, I pull at the loose tie holding my robe in place. I watch Noah with a smile as it falls to the side, and I keep my eyes on him as I shimmy it off my shoulders.

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