Page 72 of Kiss Me Like I Didn't Kill You
I grit my teeth because I don’t regret hurting her.
Shedeservesit.
Every bit of it.
I keep repeating the words in my head, over and over, until they finally start to sound real, until I almost believe them.
My hand is still on her cheek. She knocks it away, and I let it drop to my side.
“Get out of my room.”
“How can I, when I’ve decided it’s mine now too?”
She stares at me like I’ve lost my mind, and maybe I have.
“I’m not sharing a room with you,” she snaps.
“Good thing you don’t get a say in this,” I say flatly.
Something shifts in the air, the hurt in her eyes hardens into defiance.
She looks ready to throw me out, perhaps even leave a mark or two if I don’t move.
So I step in again, near enough to feel her breath tremble between us.
I need her to yield, to lose herself in my touch as she always does, thoroughly responsive, without even meaning to be.
My hand settles at her throat, tightening just enough for her to feel the pressure.
“There are no other free rooms,” I say, my voice low. “And before I share a bed with those bastards, I’d sooner sleep in the snow.”
“Not a bad idea,” she grits out, her cheeks flushed with anger.
Her eyes are glassy, like she’s holding back tears.
Because you hurt her.
The conscience I swore I didn’t have whispers.
“Let go,” I breath.
A single tear traces her cheek, and I don’t look away.
I lean in and catch it with my tongue, as my hand remains at her throat.
“I love your pain, ma lune.”
She flinches at the nickname, one hand lifting to her temple as though the sound itself wounds her.
I loathe the sight of it, that ache I can’t seem to stomach. I want to strip the pain from her and bear it myself.
A ridiculous sentiment, for someone I’m meant to despise.
“You’re confusing me far too much,” she says, her voice trembling. “You despise me, you wound me with every word, and yet you never truly leave.”
“Why can’t you just stay away from me?” she whispers.
“I don’t know.” The admission grates through my teeth before I pull her in, my lips crashing against hers.
