The room darkens around me, and I curse as I feel my knees begin to buckle. Not enough sleep or food, the adrenaline draining fast from my system.
Through the rushing in my ears, I think I hear Tessa call my name, but all my focus is on directing my fall to the sofa, so that I don’t crash to the floor. Hands guide me, and I sag on the soft leather, as everything dims for a long moment.
Hell.
The darkness wavers and recedes. I blink as sight returns—and she’s leaning over me, her delicate face filling my vision.
“Dylan?” Her face is so close to mine I can see a tiny scar through her eyebrow—an old, faded line—and the shades of blue in her eyes. “Are you okay?”
I want to tell her I’m okay, but my throat is so dry it clicks and blocks my voice. As I try again, she pulls away, and it’s all I can do not to reach for her.
“I’ll bring you some water.” She pads away quietly, and I hear the sound of water running. Then she’s back, carrying a tall glass. She sits by my side and puts it in my hands.
Her eyes are concerned, and I want to press a hand to my chest, to make sure my heart doesn’t break out of my chest. It’s thumping hard against my breastbone, and I have to hold the glass in both shaking hands, or it’ll splash all over. I take a sip, and realize I’m parched, so I swallow it all down.
Feeling better, I lower the glass, and she takes it from my hands, putting it on the table. Every movement she makes catches my eye. I can’t look away.
“What happened?” She’s searching my face, her brows knitting together.
“I’m all right. Just tired.” She’s so damn close, our legs are touching, and my body is reacting so fast my breath catches. “Tess…”
I lift my hand and brush my knuckles over her smooth cheek. Her skin is like warm satin, so unbelievably soft. A redness on her jaw catches my eye. A bruise?
Before I know it, I cup her face in both my hands and lean in. I cover her mouth with mine, tasting her at last, and a groan rises in my throat.
Oh God, how have I lived without this for so long? I part her lips with my tongue and thrust it into her mouth. She tastes sweet and fresh, like cool water, and my thirst is still raging—a different kind of thirst that goes deep.
Desire hits me like a sledgehammer. I lick her mouth, and a moan vibrates through her. I feel it all the way to my bones. I feel it in my balls and in my aching cock.
Hell, I want her so bad I can’t breathe. I twist and press her back against the cushions, kissing her like she’s oxygen, and I’m suffocating without her. She arches her back, and I drop my hands to her coat, unbuttoning it and pushing the heavy material off her shoulders.
Underneath, she’s wearing a shimmery red dress with a plunging neckline that reveals the mounds of her breasts and a hint of red lace.
Fuck. My dick goes diamond hard in two seconds flat, enthusiastically pressing against my fly, sensing action ahead.
She tastes of sugared almonds and I can’t stop kissing her. My hands move to her neck, drift down to cup her breasts, and dimly I wonder if I’m about to come like that, just from my tongue in her mouth and my hands on her tits—when she pushes on my chest and tears her mouth away.
Pulling her hand back, she slaps me. “Get out.”
Whoa. The light sting on my cheek helps me focus my gaze. She looks furious, and like she’s desperately trying to hold back tears.
What have I done? “Tess…”
“Get out! Out of my apartment.” Her voice shakes, and her eyes are too bright. “I’m done with this. Is this all a damn game to you?”
“It’s not a game,” I say, but she doesn’t let me go on, pushing on me again. Not sure what I would’ve said anyway, because I don’t know what this is.
“You don’t love me, do you?” Her eyes harden. “You never have.”
I open my mouth to deny this, to tell her the truth, but what the hell am I doing? I shake my head.
“And I don’t love you, either,” she says, her voice broken. “So just go.”
Of course she doesn’t love me. I know this. It shouldn’t feel like a kick to the gut. That’s what I want. For her not to love me. For me not to love her.
For time to stop.
“Be careful out there,” I mutter, get up and turn to go. Somehow that’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done.