Page 108 of A Lie so Dangerous and Fragile

“I’m going to come,” I whispered against his lips.

“Give it all to me,” he rasped, burying his face in my neck, his hand moving to my waist and guiding him deeper into me.

I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, closing my eyes as my climax shook my body and left me panting. I felt him twitch inside me as he grunted and shuddered, tightening his grip around me as he released thick and warm into me. I brushed my fingers through his damp hair and held on to him, not letting go, and he did the same.

“You’re fucking perfect,” he said, kissing the corner of my mouth and my nose.

“No, I’m a mess,” I countered.

He looked at me with an endearment glowing in his eyes. “My mess, the best mess ever, my perfect mess,” he said, cupping my face, and I laughed.

We were both silent as we stared at each other, wishing we could read each other’s thoughts. Tristan looked almost sad as his thumb grazed my cheek and lips slightly curved down.

“What happens tousnow?” I asked in a quiet voice.

“Sorry. I can’t think straight with my cock buried inside you,” he groaned, biting down on his bottom lip.

“Oh,” I mumbled.

I felt him getting hard again. He flipped us around and pulled out of me. I grumbled at the soreness and emptiness. He lay beside me on the bed. We faced each other, neither of us making an effort to clean up. The room reeked of sweat and sex. I could feel cum running down my thigh.

His hand moved hesitantly to trace my arm, as if he was scared I would push him away. He thought I still hated him. I could see it from the guilt in his eyes and feel it from the way his tentative fingers touched me. I drew closer till our legs were touching, and his hand now trailed all the way to my back and down my hip.

“How can you look at me and not hate me?” he asked as I cupped his face, his eyes searching mine like it was a complicated map. “I don’t know if I can ever be better for you, but I promise you, I’m better now. I can’t rewrite what I did to you but—”

“Stop,” I cut in. “What if I don’t want you to let me go?”

His fingers thread through mine that held his cheek, and he stared at me, as if he was begging me to admit I hated him and wanted nothing to do with him.

“What if I ruin you again? What if, in our story, we don’t get a happily ever after? What if, one day, you wake up and realize you made a mistake? What if, one day, you start seeing me the way I see myself? When you—”

“Tristan,” I cut in, not sure of what to say.

“I feel selfish for coming back into your life and dreaming of a forever with you,” he said, meeting my eyes. “I will fight to keep you in my life, but I can’t seem to forgive myself for what I did.”

“I don’t hate you.” I gave him his answer. “Well, not anymore, and some of the hate was purely anger. I couldn’t get rid of those feelings, no matter how I tried. I used very negative thoughts to convince myself you were a monster, but you were still all over me, so I decided to deny them.”

His full lips curled into a soft, endearing smile, and he just kept staring at my face.

“What?” I flushed, igniting under his stare.

“I don’t want this to end,” he whispered. “It feels like a dream, and maybe I’m selfish for wanting time to stop so I can savor this moment here.” He leaned closer and kissed my arm while my cheeks grew hot.

“What if I don’t want to see other people?” I asked, staring into his eyes, trying not to miss the way they focused on me with a unique sparkle.

“I don’t want you to feel like you need to be with me because of the kids, Chloe,” he said, drawing small patterns on the nape of my neck. “I want every piece of you with no doubt tainting it. I don’t care if I have to wait an eternity to win back every piece of you.”

I nodded, looking away from his face and staring at his chest instead. I imagined his heart forgetting me and moving on even if he’d promised to wait for me.

“If you let me take you out on dates and do everything possible to make you fall back in love with me, to assure your heart that it can be safe with me, then we can make this work,” he added, making me meet his eyes.

“Dates?”

“Yes, if you’re open to it. I don’t want to rush you into anything, and I want you to be sure this is what you want—me, us. If at any point you feel like calling it quits or you’re doubting my intentions, it’s okay. All I want is to see you happy,” he said and waited for me to say something.

“I still suck in the kitchen,” I said, and he laughed.

“I don’t care. You’re still perfect,” he said, pulling me into his arms. “So, will you go on a date with me?”

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