Page 42 of Carbon

“Honestly, there’s no need. I’ll be fine.”

“Please, I insist.”

Eager to get things over with, I let him loop my arm through his and walked obediently beside him to my door.

“Do you mind if I kiss you?” he asked.

Rather than answer, I stood on tiptoe and pressed my lips to his. His arms wrapped around me, holding me against his chest as his tongue slid into my mouth, exploring. But there was still no damn spark. Nothing. Not a flicker.

“I’ll call you tomorrow,” I said, pulling back. And I would—I just wasn’t sure I’d be able to give him the news he wanted.

“I hope you feel better.”

The instant the door clicked behind me, I ran through to my bedroom to change into something that didn’t restrict my ability to inhale. The conversation I needed to have with Midnight promised to be difficult enough already. A simpler dress would do.

Five minutes later, I checked out of the window for any sign of Gregory, but he’d disappeared, and thankfully Angie hadn’t come back either. Presumably, she was still with her “date,” the masked stud with the expensive watch and the sly smile, and I screwed my eyes shut at the thought of what they might be doing. Even Sapphire would be horrified by some of Angie’s antics.

But I was alone, and a good thing too, because the last thing I needed was somebody I knew seeing me sneak off to the pool house. I say pool house, but as we rarely used the pool, it hardly ever served its intended purpose. Two stories high, Father had claimed the upstairs as his den—somewhere to smoke the cigars Mother didn’t realise he indulged in and hide out when her urge to nag got too much—and downstairs was split in half. The left-hand side housed the changing area, shower, and cloakroom, while the wet bar and sofas on the right-hand side gave Angie somewhere to entertain away from the main house. And me somewhere to write. My desk facing the rose garden allowed me to escape for some peace and quiet when Dorothy began vacuuming.

As I slipped on a pair of flats and snuck along the path, I planned out how this needed to happen—talk first, don’t let Midnight distract me.

Only it didn’t quite work out that way.

Hands grabbed me the instant I walked in the door, and I would have screamed if Midnight’s mouth hadn’t come down hard on mine. The hard plastic of his mask scraped my nose, and I tore it off as he lifted me up and carried me to my desk. This wasn’t like our previous trysts—even when he’d been fast, he’d still moved with a grace that belied his size, but today his movements were hurried, frantic even.

“What’s wrong?”

I didn’t get the chance to find out before he lifted my skirt, and I opened my legs wider to give him access. Gone was his gentle reverence. His kisses grew ever more intense, and he barely had time to roll a condom on before he shoved my knickers to the side and plunged into me.

“Please, I need you,” he whispered.

All I could do was wrap my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist as he thrust. He needed me. Not wanted me, needed me. I didn’t know why, but I’d give him everything I had to offer, and in return he gave me the heady power of being desired in such a primal way.

My hands worked their way under his shirt, and as my orgasm built, I clawed at his back with a lust I’d never experienced before. We’d both turned into bloody animals. When I exploded, stars danced across my vision, and I went limp in his arms. He followed suit, leaning his forehead against mine as sweat ran down our faces.

“What the hell was all that about?” I asked, gasping for breath.

“Fuck. That was me being a selfish bastard. I’m so sorry,trésor.”

As he slid out of me, I was left with a feeling of emptiness. “I don’t get it?”

“I just wanted you one last time.”

I stiffened in his arms as a chill swept through me. “The last time? You’re telling me this...we’re over?”

“Isn’t that what you came here to tell me?”

“No! Heaven help me, but no.”

“But what about Gregory? You danced with him tonight. You kissed him.”

Oh, shit. Midnight saw all that? I belatedly realised he was wearing a bow tie and tuxedo—he must have crashed the party. “Yes, and it only confirmed my thoughts. I can’t be with a man who doesn’t make me feel the way you do. Gregory isn’t the man for me.”

“Wait a minute... Are you saying...?”

I reached a hand up and cupped his smooth face. “Beau, I know who you are.”

Muscles at the top of his cheek twitched as his eyes widened, but he didn’t deny it. “Shit.”

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