Page 42 of The History Between Us

Keeping up with the charade of atour, I show Colt around as we reach the top step. I don’t even have to glance over my shoulder to know he’s smirking, most likely wanting to call me on my bullshit.

“Here’s the bathroom,” I murmur, gesturing with my hand before shoving it back into my pocket. “Beside it is the guest bedroom.”

For reasons I don’t understand, I even go as far as turning on the light in the room, as if showing him it’s real. As I flick off the light switch and exit the space, I find myself unable to look at him. Like if I make eye contact, suddenly it’ll all be real.It’s absurd. Colt’s here… in my house. Of course, it’s real.

The half-open door to my bedroom is taunting me at the end of the hall. It’s the only room left up here that I haven’t shown him. It’s either take him there or finally call the whole thing off and send him on his way. The latter is the smarter of the choices, the one I should lean into, but I know myself better than that. I’ve come this far, I’m not backing out, even if I don’t quite understand what it is about him that has me saying to hell with my morals.

Something about Colt has me behaving like a teenager all over again. Reckless. Careless. Horny. And there’s a part of me—the part of me I’ve locked away for years now in favor of building my career and making a name for myself—that relishes this. Thatenjoysthis side of me that he pulls out of hibernation. A part of me who thinks that maybe I need this, this fun, wild type of energy. Maybe I’ve spent far too long trying to be a professional that I’ve lost who I really am.

So, while I may not fully understand this pull I have toward Colt, I’m choosing, in this moment, to lean into it. Not only because it feels right, but because Iwantto, and sometimes life is just too damn short to not indulge in the things you want for reasons that are purely selfish. As this resolve washes over me, I roll my shoulders back, and put one foot in front of the other as I lead Colt Bishop to my bedroom. Nothing has ever felt as wrong and forbidden and fucking good as this does, and for once in my damn life, I’m allowing myself to bask in those feelings. Embrace them.

My attraction for Colt is wrong, but I’m acting on it anyway because the fact of the matter is, we’re both consenting adults, so why not?

As we enter the room, I step aside, letting Colt go in aheadof me as I shut the door. The sound of the lock clicking into place sounds an awful lot like my fate sealing. I rest my back against the tall, hardwood, my gaze locked on Colt. I expected him to look out of place in my room, like he didn’t belong. But it’s quite the opposite. That could be lust talking, or the fact that Colt has the ability to fit in anywhere.

“Why’d you invite me over tonight, Doc?” he asks, a smirk curling his lips.

Heat floods my system, my heart stuttering.

“I think you know why.” My voice is husky, the desire evident in my tone.

Tonight, I’m going to do something I won’t be able to take back, and unlike the first time, I won’t have the excuse of alcohol to fall back on when the morning light shines down on me.

Tonight, I’m taking what I want, indulging in the history between us, and it’s going to feel damn good doing it.

21

Colt Bishop

“Ithink you know why.”

Those five words have ignited a fire within me. I don’t know what I expected when he invited me over, but I kind of figured he’d take the high road and put a stop to this long before we wound up here, in his bedroom. But I can’t deny how fucking stoked I am that he hasn’t.

Neither of us says anything else for a long moment, but our eye contact is heady. I’m doused in lust and need, dying to close the distance and taste him again. William reminds me of a frightened wild animal right now, though. One wrong move, and it could all be over, so I have to let him come to me. Have to let him call the shots, which admittedly, isn’t easy for me. Taking what I want is something that has always come naturally. I don’t beat around the bush or pussyfoot around anything, but William is in a league of his own.

If he doesn’t initiate whatever is about to happen, then he’ll run away like he did when I kissed him at Conrad’s place. He’s obnoxiously stubborn, not that it’sdeterred me so far.

Pushing off the door, William takes a step, then another, his gaze locked on mine the entire way. My pulse races, my heart in my throat the closer he gets. As he comes to a stop in front of me, I see it. He falters for a single moment. There’s doubt in his eyes, and I know he’s nervous. Thankfully, he’s able to shove whatever’s in his mind away because in the next moment, he’s grabbing me by the back of the neck, hauling my mouth into his.

As soon as our lips lock, my hands are on him. The need to have William as close to me as humanly possible takes over, and I’m wrapping my arms around his waist while he does the same to me. It’s electric, the way our lips move together. The way his tongue surges into my mouth, tasting mine. The kiss feels feral. It feels carnal; a need we both have, an itch we must scratch.

William’s fingers find the hem of my shirt, and he starts lifting the material before he pauses, taking a step back. “Take this off,” he growls, his ocean eyes darkened. “I want to rip it off of you, but I don’t want to hurt your shoulder.”

I breathe out a laugh as I do as he says. Something about the level of care he has for my shoulder hits me right in the chest in a way I didn’t anticipate. He’s a doctor; of course, he would be cautious of my injury, but for some reason, it feels deeper than that. Like maybe he cares forme. Shoving those thoughts away, I let my shirt drop to the ground as I wait on bated breath for his next instruction. As hard as it is for me to follow somebody’s lead, I must admit, there’s something really fucking hot about watching William boss me around.

Eyes roaming across my chest, his hands clench into fists at his side. “Fuck,” he breathes out before he’s on me again. His lips practically maul my mouth, and I love it. I love seeing him appear so out of control.

My greedy fingers grip the hem of his shirt next, breaking our lips apart long enough to tug it over his head. It lands next to mine as the palm of my hands caress the expanse of his chest. Our kiss gets more heated by the minute. It’s messy; a clash of teeth and tongues, neither of us able to get our fill. The coarse hair that covers his chest feels amazing under my touch, and when I tweak his nipples between my fingers, he gasps into my mouth. The sound quickly morphs into a groan that settles deep in my balls.

Everything about William is all man. The way he smells, the way he feels under my touch, the way he handles me. I can’t get enough.

“Why can’t I stop thinking about you?” he murmurs against my lips in between kisses. “What is it about you that I can’t seem to stay away from?”

I don’t even think he realizes he’s saying anything, but my chest swells with pride at knowing I’m on his mind as much as he’s on mine.Especiallyknowing how much he tries to pretend I’m not.

“You think about me, Doc?” I smirk against his mouth as he slowly walks us backwards toward his bed.

“You know I do,” he growls. “It’s infuriating.”

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