A Broken Soul(64)

"Can I come in? Please, Lilly."

She didn't move from the doorway. Instead, she landed a well-placed blow by saying, "You know, I wasn't going to call you my boyfriend. I wouldn't do something like that in front of your family, and especially not in front of Sophia. I'd never intentionally confuse her like that."

I was such an asshole. "I know."

She crossed her arms over her chest, the picture of animosity as she continued to stare me down. "Then why'd you feel the need to cut me off like that? Like you were scared I was going to slip up and actually admit out loud that we're carrying on like more than friends when no one's watching."

Shame so strong it nearly choked me twisted inside me throat. "I-I don't know."

She let out a sardonic laugh that cut me right down to the bone. "Well, you don't need to worry, Quinn. Your dirty little secret is safe."



       
         
       
        

I took a step closer, crowding her against the doorframe. "You aren't a dirty little secret. You could never be that," I hissed. She couldn't. My problem wasn't that I was embarrassed of her, it was that I didn't want to let the real world into our little bubble. I didn't want reality to interrupt and ruin what we had.

"Bullshit! You've treated me like that from day one!" she snapped, anger flashing in her gorgeous eyes. "And the fucked up thing is that I've let you! I'm so stupid, so pathetically desperate for a goddamned ounce of your attention that I let you walk all over me! I keep making excuses because I actually care about you, that I've become one of those weak women that I've always despised."

I couldn't stand to hear her talk about herself like that. Self-loathing wasn't even a strong enough word to describe how miserable I felt at the idea that I'd made her feel so bad about herself.

"You aren't weak," I argued, reaching up and taking her face in my hands. "You aren't. And I hate myself for making you feel that way." My forehead dropped against hers and I squeezed my eyes closed. "I care about you, too, Lilly. So goddamn much it physically hurts, and I don't know what to do about it. I wish I could be normal for you. I wish I wasn't so fucking broken." Most of all, I wished I could be a man deserving of her.

I moved without thinking, needing to feel her, taste her, lose myself in her completely. Lilly's gasp of surprise when my lips hit hers spurred a longing deep within me. I used her parted lips to my advantage and plunged my tongue inside, craving her with a desperation that boarded on sheer insanity.

But that's how she made me feel.

Absolutely insane for her.

The fight fled from her, and her body melted into mine. I untangled my hands from her hair and lifted her into my arms, basking in the feel of her legs wrapping around my waist as I moved both of us into her apartment, kicking the door closed behind me.

Our lips stayed connected, devouring each other as I carried her through the living room and down the hall into her bedroom. I needed her more than I needed air.

I needed her goodness. I needed her light.

And it made me the most selfish bastard on the face of the earth, but I was going to take every single thing she had to offer.





Lilly



HE WAS DRIVING me out of my mind.

All of my sanity fled the moment Quinn touched me.

Deep down, I knew this was a mistake, that I was only asking for more heartache, but when he said he cared about me, the sincerity in his voice and the earnestness on his face were just too much to deny.

I knew he meant it, but I also knew that the chasm between us was too wide for me to breech on my own. Sex wouldn't solve any of the problems we had, but how do you turn away from a man you love with every fiber of your being? 

I wanted to take his pain away, to heal him, fix what he thought was broken. And no matter how many times I told myself that wasn't possible, it never stopped me from trying.

My back hit the mattress and Quinn lifted up just long enough to rid us both of our clothes. His knees hit the bed and the air whooshed from my lungs at the sight of this beautiful man hovering over me. His weight came down on me. His lips crashed against mine in a brutal kiss that drove me wild.

My hands skated across his body, touching every inch of hot, bare flesh that I could reach, committing every valley and rivet of muscle to memory. But it wasn't enough. I needed to feel him inside of me.

I planted my feet into the mattress and lifted my hips seeking the connection I needed so badly.

His cock rested between our bodies, heavy and hard against my stomach, and when he shifted I prayed it was in order to bury himself deep. But he had other things in mind.