“I don’t understand, Everly. What’s going on?”
I grunted out a laugh. “You. You are what’s going on. Ever since you woke up, my life has been in turmoil. It wasn’t enough that you treated me poorly for years—no, now you have to ruin the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
His hands went up in a defensive position as he slowly backed into the living room. My finger was still pressed deep into his chest and the way he looked down at it made me feel like I was pointing a loaded weapon at his heart.
“Ryan left me!” I cried out, fresh tears dripping down my cheeks.
His eyes rounded in sympathy. Sympathy I didn’t want or need.
“No!” I yelled. “Don’t you dare say anything. You’ve done enough!”
Stepping out of my reach, his eyes turned hard as he wrapped his arms around his torso. “What have I done exactly?”
I yelled out in frustration, my hands going through my hair as I turned away from him. “He doesn’t think I love him. He says I need time.”
“To do what?” he pressed.
“To be with you!”
“And you obviously don’t agree?” he asked slowly as I turned and met his gaze.
“Look, I get that me coming here, announcing my split from Ryan is like a wet dream come true for you, but let me explain something—it’s temporary. We will get back together.”
His expression turned heated. “You think I like seeing you show up like this? All wrecked and destroyed over another fucking guy? Do you think this pleases me somehow? Jesus, Everly—if I ever pictured you coming through that door again, it certainly wasn’t like this.”
“I hate this,” I sobbed, “I hate this whole thing. Why did you have to wake up, August? Why now? Why couldn’t you have waited? Just a little bit longer? We could have been married—happy. Settled.”
He shook his head, shock written all over his face. “Do you think anything would have really been different? Do you think the timing of this would have changed anything, Everly? That somehow marriage vows would have made the big difference in all of this?”
“Yes!”
“No—” he cut me off. “It wouldn’t. The only difference would be a marriage falling apart instead of an engagement.”
“We’re getting back together!” I screamed.
“Please,” he hissed. “If that were true, why was the first thing you did after he left to come here?”
I opened my mouth to answer but the words fell flat as he stepped closer, pushing into my personal space. His scent surrounded me as his dark hazel eyes looked down with purpose.
“Exactly,” he said softly. “You and I are the same. Both too scared to admit the cold, hard truth—moving on isn’t an option for us because we’re still stuck right damn here.”
Pulling me closer, his mouth closed over mine. His kiss was brutal and hard. My gasp of surprise only pushed him further, digging his hands into my waist as he lifted me from the floor. The more I fought, the more punishing he became. We fought as my legs wrapped around his waist and my jagged teeth sank into his lip.
Hearing him cry out in pain only fueled the fire that was raging uncontrollably in my belly, begging me to go further—to hurt him for everything I’d lost. He grabbed my hair roughly as I pushed us back onto the couch. We ripped clothes from our bodies in mindless frenzy. I had no idea what I was doing, only that he was the reason I was doing it. Time rushed by in a blur, as passion and pain dominated my mind.
He was the reason for everything.
Nothing was gentle. There were no lingering kisses, no words of praise as he pulled a condom from his wallet and quickly slipped it on. No thoughts of whether this was wrong or right passed through my head as we pushed and pulled at each other. His dark eyes met mine seconds before he lifted my naked body and slammed it down on his, culminating our wicked dance into something deeper.
I cried out at the intrusion but he gave me no time to adjust as he moved me up and down over and over on his swollen cock. Every plot of vengeance…every fantasy of getting even was pushed aside as he worked my body over his. I let him own me in those minutes, giving it all up for those few shorts moments of bliss.
My head fell back as he picked me up and flipped me over the back of the couch, spreading my legs wide.
“Shit!” I yelled as he entered me from behind, his relentless pace never slowing as he moved hard and slow into me. I pushed back, feeling the hard line of his pelvic bone hit my ass as he grabbed my hips and pumped in and out.
“Remember this,” he said, leaning over, against my ear. “Remember what this feels like when you go crawling back to your fiancé tomorrow, Everly. Remember what I feel like inside you. Don’t ever forget how we feel together.”