Page 49 of Burn for You (Flirting with Forever 3)

Damon side-eyes me. “You want to talk?” His voice is all grit and gravel, as though he hasn’t spoken to anyone, even though I know that can’t be true.

“Well, yeah. I don’t understand why you are so upset, so angry, that you won’t even talk to me about what happened. We’re adults. Would it hurt you to act like one?” Sue me. Af

ter four days of the brush-off, I’m not only sad, but also a tiny bit pissed off.

At my tone, he angles his body to face me, his face rigid. “Fine. It was bad enough that you tricked me into talking to you on the app, but you know what? It occurred to me you kind of came onto me at the gym, too.”

My mouth drops open, and I blink a few times before I can formulate a response. “I didn’t trick you in any way, and I didn’t come onto you. Not like you are saying. I responded to you, sure.”

He groans and the sound rumbles deep in his chest. “You expect me to believe that? You started it. You came around where I was working. You watched me, waited to talk to me. And then—”

“And then we kissed each other. Just like you told me the day after—'two sets of lips, two tongues, two bodies.’” I gesture back and forth with a pointed finger between us.

He shakes his head, cheeks turning a deep crimson color. “You’ve always known it was me and you kept it secret. Watched as I got in deeper and deeper with you. With her. Fuck.” He scrubs his hand through his hair almost violently.

I huff, so mad at him I want to scream. “I absolutely did not. I did no such thing. I don’t know how you could think I’d do any of that.” It pains me that he assumes I’ve been party to some sort of emotional warfare—like I’ve enjoyed toying with him. He’s making me so damn angry I’m visibly shaking. I blink back tears. I will not cry. “You’re wrong, Damon.”

His jaw clenches. “Tell me what I’m wrong about, then.”

“Everything. You have it all wrong.” How do I explain this to him when he’s convinced I’ve done something so cruel? I’m flustered and my words, which I’m usually so good at finding, are not coming out the way I want them to. I’m going to lose him. And I don’t know what to do to stop it. I’m a complete novice when it comes to talking to men like this. I’ve never been in this position before and it kills me, but I don’t know what to say to make things right.

When I don’t immediately continue, he rolls his chair backward and stands. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to do a count and make sure all the books I loaned out have come back.” He turns away from me and stalks into the supply closet.

With my heart in my throat, I follow him, not at all sure what I’m about to do or say. I have to try something, so I shut the door behind us. “Damon …”

He eyes the closed door behind me. “What? Admit it, you did all this on purpose. This is all a fucking game to you.”

Before he can see what’s coming, I take his head in my hands and pull him down to me, kissing him squarely on the lips. He hesitates for a split second, and I imagine I’ve succeeded in throwing him off balance. Our breaths mingle, and on a groan, he clasps me to him, deepening the kiss. The hunger between us is an angry storm filled with torment and longing. His hands tighten on my hips, and I moan in relief. I’ve missed his touch. I’ve missed his taste.

But mostly, I’ve just missed him. My friend. The man I work side by side with every single day. Without realizing it, I’ve come to depend on our daily banter and the way he looks at me. The way he cares for me. And when those things were taken from me, it’d been nothing short of devastating. And to have lost Prof.M. at the same time? I’ve been in turmoil wondering how to fix things, not knowing how to make things right. Until now. This is what we’ve both needed … to shut up and just feel.

When we finally unlock lips, I don’t want to back up, don’t want to leave his arms because it feels so right. He is where I want to be. “Would you stop with all the yelling and accusations and listen to me for a minute?”

He exhales heavily and nods, looking at me, his eyes half-hooded. I hope I can get out what I need to say before our lips get in the way again.

“I’ve never tried to hurt you. I didn’t know it was you until the night before.” My breath hitches. I don’t know how to do this, but I’ve already lost everything, so I’m going to have to just lay it all out there. What’s the worst that can happen? He shoots me down? My throat goes incredibly dry at the thought, but I manage to rasp. “Damon, I have feelings for you. And now that I know you’re him? They’re stronger. Please don’t throw us away over this.”

He backs me up to a bookshelf, lowering his mouth a hair’s breadth away from mine. I exhale, and he drinks in my breath. I see it in his eyes; he’s trying to come to a decision. I don’t know if he will continue to blame me or decide to believe what I’m telling him and give in to what he feels. I know he wants me. I feel it in the way he looks at me, the way he holds me. And most of all, I’ve always felt it in the way he kisses me.

His mouth slants over mine, his hands curling around the back of my neck, thumbs stroking my jaw. His tongue meets mine and the need flowing through me is like wildfire, the flames licking every part of me—my body, my soul. He fills in all the missing pieces of my heart.

Damon groans as he runs his hands over my breasts, squeezing one, then they continue down the sides of my torso, and finally rest on my ass. His fingers dig into me just before he pulls me close, and I whimper at the feel of his erection pressing hard against my stomach. I can’t help myself; I strain closer, wanting to know all of him. My breasts feel full and tingly, and my nipples pebble almost painfully as we grind together.

He hitches my leg on his hip, and I take the cue, wrapping it around him. He reaches between us, gathering my skirt and pulling it up, fingers burning me everywhere he touches. My thigh, my stomach, and finally—finally—they slip down the front of my panties.

“Oh God, yes.” The words are ripped from my lips, totally surprising both him and me.

He growls deep in his throat. “Fuck, Piper. You’re completely soaked.” His mouth falls to my neck, kissing and sucking on my skin as he slides his fingers through my folds, dipping into my core and gathering moisture. His arousal-slickened fingers rub tight circles around my clit, making me gasp before I release a heady moan.

My body bucks against his hand, seeking a release from the building pressure, and I lose myself in his touch. He’s rough, then gentle, sweeping me up in the moment until I’ve forgotten everything—where we are, who I am, even my own name. The leg I’m standing on begins to quake and go weak, but he just wraps an arm around my waist, holding me in place while he continues to work his magic with his fingers. All at once, my whole body begins to shake with the force of the orgasm as it slams through me. His mouth covers mine in a heartbreakingly gentle kiss as I go limp and my muscles twitch and spasm with a pleasure so keen, I don’t know if I can handle it. I gasp into his mouth, “Damon.”

My whole world has just been rocked. Hard. I don’t understand how we haven’t yet even talked about everything, don’t know where we stand, but our bodies sure as hell understand when something is right. Oh. So. Right.

He holds me until I can stand on my own, then steps back, all while sucking my moisture from his fingers. He props his hands on his hips, studying me. I’m sure I look like a hot mess. Somewhere in the background is the sound of the last bell of the day ringing, and it brings both of us crashing back to reality—he’s just made me come in the supply closet. During school hours, no less. My cheeks color as I straighten my skirt and tuck my hair behind my ears. It also doesn’t escape me that while I’d told him how I feel, he’d never really responded. My eyes flick up to meet his. I’m relieved to see warmth there, not the icy stares I’ve been getting all week.

He clears the roughness in this throat. “I have to meet Frank for practice in thirty minutes, so I have to go. But I think we still have more to say to each other.”

“Considering you really didn’t say anything, yes, I agree.”

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