Page 53 of I Knead You Tonight

Her brows crumple together. “I just said I want this. If you’re worried about consent, you have it.”

“Are you not listening to yourself? You wantthis,notme. Let that sink in before we take this any further. Will you wake up tomorrow regretting this? Will you be able to look me in the eye after I make you scream my name? Will you be okay with this?”

I place my lips against hers and she opens for me almost instantly. I sweep my tongue into her mouth, taking my time savoring her because I’m almost certain this will be the last time I’ll get the chance tonight.

I pull away, ignoring the whimper that falls from her lips, trailing kisses up her cheek.

“If you aren’t one hundred percent sure you want to do this withmeand not just because your body is craving a certain touch, walk away now.” I flick my tongue out, tasting the sensitive skin just below her ear. “Because if we do this, Drew, there’s no turning back, no pretending it didn’t happen.”

I pull away from her entirely, watching as her knees shake without me holding her up. Her chest rises and falls rapidly as she gulps air in.

She blinks once. Twice.

I watch as the realization of what we’re doing—or what we were almost doing—starts to fall into place.

I’m right.

Drew doesn’t want me. She just wants to be touched.

No matter how badly I want to touch her, I am a greedy man and know if I start, I’ll never want to stop.

And she’s not ready for that.

I’m putting an end to this for her, because I sure as shit ain’t doing it for me.

“I-I-I…” She clears her throat, lifting her chin. “You’re right. I think this would have been a mistake.”

“It would have been.”For you.

We don’t say anything for a long time. Just stand here, staring. Trying to gather the courage to leave the other.

It’s harder than I thought it would be to walk away.

“We, uh, should probably go to bed.”

I blow out a breath, nodding. “We should.”

“I…I’m gonna take a shower, if that’s okay?”

“Yeah. Of course. I’ll, just…um, I’ll go in after you.”

She nods, moving toward the bathroom. The door clicks shut, and the sound is so loud. So final.

The water is turned on almost instantly, and I exhale for what feels like the first time tonight.

I toss myself onto the bed, scrubbing my hands over my face, trying to figure out what just happened.

What the fuck is wrong with me? I just stopped a beautiful girl from having sex with me. Since when do I do shit like that? When did I start taking the high road? Have I gone completely fucking insane?

Okay, maybe notinsane.

I don’t just like Drew.

I care about her, and not just a “It would really suck if you got hit by a car” kind of caring.

The real kind. The kind where I give a shit if she’s happy or sad or mad. The kind where Iwantto know her problems and ambitions and her past…want to know her.

And that’s my hang-up.

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