Page 97 of Paradox
He’s lying.
He has to be lying.
He always lies.
He takes. He hurts. He throws away.
“I wasn’t ready to—damnit, I didn’t think I’d ever have to face it. Then when I saw you here, I… I blamed you for everything because it was easy. Pushing you around and seeing you cry made me feel like it wasn’t my fault that my relationship with Shawn broke down…”
My heart is in my throat.
My mouth and lips are dry.
My eyes are stinging.
“I don’t know how to talk to you… Every time I look at you, or even think about opening my mouth, I want to tell you how insane you make me feel.”
My hand flies to the handle.
I turn it, opening the door towards me.
Eden is there, just as tall and imposing as ever.
His hair is in his face.
A cloth is wrapped around his hand.
“You make me crazy,” he admits.
“You makemecrazy.”
“I don’t want you to regret anything.”
“I want you more than anything.”
He cups the back of my head, pulls me against him, and smells my hair. “I want you in ways I’ve never wanted anyone else.”
My chin pokes into his chest as I lift my head. “What do you mean?”
“I want… I think about having sex with you constantly. I want you to do things to me that I—shit, Jin, I wanna be in positions I’ve never been in before—that I’ve never even thought about before. But I also don’t wanna jump straight to the end. I actually want to talk to you, but because I don’t know how, I’ve been doing everything I can toshowyou how I feel… I’m sorry it’s not enough.”
I place my hand against his cheek. “You shaved today.”
“I know it scratches you when I don’t.”
I stand on my toes and wrap both arms around his neck.
Eden picks me up and waits until I lean in to kiss him before he moves.
His lips are dryer than mine from being outside so much. But they’re warm, and taste of him.
His hands find their way to wrap around me until I feel so secure I think I could live here forever.
I want to eat him.
I want him to eat me.
I want his words tattooed all over my body.
