Fierce(57)

Fuck.

It was good, but now it’s spoiled. This feels like another one of his teases, and I can’t stand it.

Honestly, I feel humiliated. With me not being one of ‘all the other girls’ it’s almost a direct insult. As if I’m not good enough to fuck.

And I just gave him my everything. He just took my innocence. He just saw me at my weakest, and he’s taken advantage of it.

Snorting, I throw the blanket off me and get out of the bed.

“What are you doing?” he says.

I fetch my dress. “Going.”

“Wait, what?” he says, and now he gets up from the bed, too.

“I don’t want to be your plaything. I made a mistake coming here,” I say, tears welling up in my eyes.

I should’ve known he’d do this to me.

He comes up behind me and grabs both my arms. “Don’t go.”

“Why should I stay?”

“Because I want you to. I need you.”

“Stop playing around! You want me, but you don’t want me? You just practically told me I’m not good enough to fuck,” I say.

“No, you have it all wrong. When I said you’re not one of those girls, I meant that you’re special. Different.”

I’m silently biting my lip, listening to him. I want to give him a chance, but the amount of times I’m still willing to do it are diminishing quickly.

“I want to take it slow. Not rush into things.”

“Why?” I say.

“Because I like you too much. I don’t want to spoil it.”

He puts his arms around me completely, and kisses the back of my head. Resting his nose in my hair, he sniffs, taking in my scent. “I want this to be more than just sex.”

“Why didn’t you just say so?” I say, turning around in his arms.

He looks at me with hungry eyes. It looks as though he’s still fighting the urge to jump my bones. Is he really holding himself back just so he can take his time with me?

“Because … You wanted me so badly … and I want you, too … But you’re the first girl I want more with than just that. I don’t want it to be all lust and fucking. I want you to like me for who I am, not for what I do in the bedroom. And maybe in the shower or the car …”

His bad grin makes me laugh. I feel better now, knowing he’s doing it because he doesn’t want me to be just a fuck. I’m not just a girl. I’m his Leafy.

“Is that why you call me Leafy?” I suddenly blurt out.

He muffles a laugh. “You want me to get into all the details?”

“If you want me to stay, spill it.”

“All right. That first day I saw you with the leaf blower, I found your bracelet in the grass. I knew it was yours, and I wanted to bring it back, but I had no clue where to go. I didn’t know your name, I didn’t know where you were staying. Lucky for me, I found your bedroom quite close to mine,” he says, chuckling, emphasizing the word bedroom. He’s probably thinking of a whole lot of nasty things he could do to me there.

“Anyway, all I could remember was the girl with the leaves in her curly hair, so … Leafy it was.”

“But I told you my name,” I say.

“I know, but the Leafy thing just stuck with me. It has a nice ring to it. And it was fun, since you seemed to hate it. You blush every time I say it.” He smirks, and I shove him forward.

I didn’t expect him to fall back onto the bed, though.

“See? Training worked. You get stronger the moment you’re angry.”

“Oh ha-ha, very funny.”

“So … will you stay?” he suddenly says.

I suck on my bottom lip and think about it for a second. Hunter looks like he really means it, and I want to believe it. I just hope what he says is true.

Part of me still believes this is a dream, and that I’ll wake up somewhere in the middle of the night discovering it was all in my head. Then again, shouldn’t I take this chance? He’s made my life so much more fun and exciting, and he seems like he’s really caring, even though he doesn’t take care of himself that much.

Maybe that’s why he needs me.

I step forward and he reaches out for me, grabbing my hand. He pulls me down to the bed with him, draping the covers over us.

“Let’s just sleep, okay?” he says. He’s taking off his pants underneath the blanket, and I can’t help but gulp at the thought of him lying next to me in his boxer briefs.

“Hmm …” I groan.

We crawl farther onto the bed, pulling the sheets with us. I’m tired, and he’s right, I do want to be with him. I can’t say no anymore. Not to anything. Not because I can’t, but because I don’t want to anymore.