Page 29 of Worth the Trouble

“Has no one warned you not to tempt the devil?” I tilt her head so I can bring my mouth to her ear. “You might not like what you unleash.”

I squeeze the column of her neck gently. Not enough to take her breath, but to make her work for it. Because something about the idea of being the beginning and end of this girl is appealing.

“I’m not some breakable thing, Rome.” Lili lets out a long exhale. “I can handle it.”

“Is that really what you want, sweetheart?” I release her throat and move my hand up to graze her full lips with my thumb. “Do you even know what you’re asking for? Do you want me to fuck the sass out of your mouth before I fuck the fight out of your pussy? Because that’s what I’d do. I’d fuck you dirty and shatter that perfect glass tower they’ve locked you away in. Do you want me to ruin you just because you’re bored and looking for trouble?”

She’s breathing so hard she’s panting. Like she can’t catch her breath. I’m tempted to shove her to her knees and stick my cock down her throat because I don’t play games. But something about this delicate creature in my hands makes me pause. She smells like pears and sugar and things I’m not supposed to taste.

For good reason.

“Don’t mistake me for a gentleman because I’d rather destroy you than save you.” I move my hand once more to her throat and she tips her head back against my chest, breathing hard. “Or is that what you want?”

Her hands move to my sides, and she rests them on my thighs, pressing her body fully flush with mine. But instead of reaching for more, she closes her eyes and sinks into my hold like she trusts me with things she shouldn’t.

“I don’t know, Rome,” she says, and it’s almost a whisper. “Maybe I just want to feel something again.”

“You want to use me?” It should make me happy because that’s all I’m good for.

So why does it feel a little like a knife twisting for the first time in my life?

“No… I…” Her eyes open and she searches my face, seemingly coming to a realization. “Rome, I’m sorry… I…”

The spell broken, I let her go and take a step back. “It’s fine. I shouldn’t have done that.”

She paces the room, redoing her ponytail. “It’s just the show is coming up, and my mom was here this morning. It’s one event after another. And then you showed up. I don’t know what I’m doing.”

Lili cuts off her ramble and plants herself on the couch, which is sitting at the edge of the living room, leaving a wide-open space she probably practices in.

She buries her face in her hands and it’s the perfect opportunity for me to get out of here, but for the same reason I found myself showing up at her doorstep, I walk over and sit down beside her. I lean back and stretch my legs out.

For someone who always has something to say to break the tension, I’m coming up empty.

“I didn't mean to insinuate what I did.” Lili looks up at me.

I drop my hands to my lap and realize she’s sitting up straight as a pole again.

“You know...” Her eyes dart away, nervously. “I’m not saying all you do is get around or anything.”

“I do though.”

Her eyes snap back to mine, but it isn’t disgust I find in them, it’s something undefinable and far more dangerous.

“I’ve fucked my way around the world more than once, sweetheart.”

She chews the inside of her cheek, not blinking as she assesses what I’m telling her. I’d like to dig into her pretty little head and hear what she thinks about my comment, which isn’t something I can say I’ve thought about another person before. Her lips part and the sweetest exhale leaves them.

I can practically see her coming to her senses. Her expression shifting as she realizes what she almost let me do—what I wanted to do more than anything in a long time. I watch Lili’s face change as she rebuilds her composure, burying whatever was stressing her out earlier and collecting herself. I watch her morph once more into the girl who is way too good for me.

“Feel better?”

She takes in a deep breath and nods. “Sorry—”

“Don’t worry about it.” I plaster a smile on my face that hurts a little more than it should right now. “Happy to help.”

Lili shifts in her seat, looking far too innocent all of a sudden. So I change the subject.

“This where you dance?” My eyes move to the empty space that takes up most of the living room.

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