Page 29 of Red Zone

“Yes. I just… don’t want to think too much about what I’m doing right now.” She slipped out of her coat and grasped the edge of her shirt, easing it up and tormenting me with every inch of bared skin. I helped with her clothes, desperate to see all of her, watching for any signs that she might change her mind. Shegave none as she stood beautifully naked before me. She took my breath away.

I pulled a condom out of my wallet, stripped off my clothes, and put it on. There wouldn’t be time later, not with the mounting desire crackling through the air. I was utterly addicted to her, desperate to be inside her. I wanted her more than my next breath.

I was so turned on that going slowly wasn’t an option. With no clothes separating us, I cupped her ass and lifted her. Her legs automatically wrapped around me, and as I pinned her against the wall, I took her lips in a desperate kiss, ruthlessly invading her mouth until she moaned.

Needing to watch, I broke the kiss. A tremor went through her body as I slid my fingers down her silky skin to brush a teasing caress over her clit. Met by her warm, wet heat, I slipped my finger in, my thumb circling her sensitive nub as I pumped inside her, then I curled my finger until she panted.

“Liam,” she moaned.

By the way her legs tightened around me, urging me closer, I knew she was close. Withdrawing my fingers to the sweet sounds of her protests, I aligned the tip of my cock with her entrance and slanted my mouth over hers.

Her hands tangled in my hair, tugging the strands as she kissed me with the same need. She nipped at my lip then ran her tongue over it, and I lost it. Positioned at her slick entrance, I thrust in. Her head fell back on a low moan, and I wrapped my hand around the nape of her neck. The other gripped her ass as I drove deep. Her hips tilted, and she met my furious pace.

I grazed my teeth over the soft skin from her neck to her shoulder, eliciting a whimper as I increased the pressure. She arched against me, and a wave of lust drove me to go harder, faster until her body convulsed around me, and she cried out. Two more pumps, and I followed her, spilling deep inside her. Ileaned into her, bracing one arm on the wall as we caught our breath. Goddamn, she was addictive. I’d never been with anyone who made me feel the way she did.

Then she laughed, and the sound was so carefree and sensual that my mouth watered. A fine sheen of sweat coated her, and her firm breasts glistened, tempting me to take her nipples into my mouth and worship every inch of her again. She was so beautiful.

We both groaned as I pulled out, and she slid her legs down to stand. I made sure she had her footing before releasing her to dispose of the condom. Afterward, I ran my hands through my hair, somewhat shaken by how insatiable she made me feel.

Our clothes were a mess, tangled around our feet, evidence of the chaos we’d just created. Skye eased away as she bent to gather her clothes then clutched her discarded shirt to her chest like a shield. Her hair spilled over her shoulders in dark, wild waves, and I could still see the faint blush trailing down her neck. But then she spoke, and the warmth in the room evaporated.

“This doesn’t mean anything,” she said, her voice soft but sharp enough to cut through me. “It can’t.” Panic laced her words as she hastily dressed.

In the middle of pulling on my jeans, I paused, the muscles in my shoulders tightening as her words sank in. I didn’t like it one bit. “What are you talking about?”

She stepped away from me, toward the door, but glanced over her shoulder, her eyes flickering with something I couldn’t pin down—regret, guilt, fear, maybe all of them.

“We’ve always been like a moth to a flame, Liam. I just… we touched so many times in the lab, and it got to me. I should never, um—this… this was a mistake. Let’s just forget it happened.”

“Forget it?” I repeated, the words scraping my throat like sandpaper. I finished fastening my jeans then leaned forward. “Skye, I’m not forgetting anything. Not this. Not us.”

“There is no ‘us,’” she said quickly as she turned to face me, fully clothed. “We had something back then, sure, but now? Now there’s too much… everything. Too much baggage. Too many complications. I can’t?—”

“Youwon’t,” I interrupted, gently pulling her closer.

She flinched, just barely, and it made my chest ache.

I lowered my voice. “I’m not saying it’ll be easy, but it’s real, Skye. What we had was real, and it still could be.”

She shook her head, her hands trembling as she pulled away. “No. I don’t want to complicate my life any more than it already is. I need to separate… this”—she gestured between us—“the physical, from everything else going on. And I can’t do that if I let myself think this could be more.”

“You’re lying to yourself.” I forced the words out, though they felt heavy in my chest.

She released a shaky breath, stepping back. “Maybe I am. But that’s my choice to make. Please, Liam. I need this to be a one-time thing. I know I said yes, but please. I need us to go back to how we were when I was just your tutor, never mentioning what just happened again.”

Her words felt like a slap. I clenched my jaw, holding back everything I wanted to say, everything I wanted to shout. Instead, I took a deep breath and nodded, the movement stiff and unnatural.

“If that’s what you want,” I said, my voice flat, detached. But inside, it felt like something had been ripped out of me, and all that was left was the hollow ache of disappointment.

She nodded, relief flashing across her face. “Thank you.” And just like that, she turned, leaving me alone in the room that still smelled like her.

I leaned against the wall as the silence pressed in.Forget it?Not a chance.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

SKYE

Ipractically bolted out of the classroom, my heartbeat thundering in my ears. The echo of the door clicking shut behind me should have been a relief, but it only amplified the emotions swirling inside me. My face burned, my skin still tingling from the memory of his hands, his mouth, his everything.

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