The Imperfections

“See that you do,” I mutter, grabbing the whiskey glass I brought to this booth with me and emptying it.

Thankfully, Theo doesn’t linger and leaves without bothering me more than he already has. Less fortunately, I’m already bothered a whole fucking lot, so I pour myself another drink.

10

Alyssa

I’m having trouble getting comfortable in my bed tonight, so I’m not sleeping like I should be when I hear the telltale creak of my bedroom door swinging open.

I frown, rolling over to investigate the sound, and my heart seizes when I see his unmistakable silhouette in the moonlight.

“Brant?” I whisper, starting to roll over, but I only make it onto my back before he puts a knee on the bed and climbs on with me.

The mattress sags beneath the weight of a second person, but my heart feels lighter than it has in days.

“What are you doing here?” I whisper, not even trying to hide how happy I am to see him.

I realize how much I’ve missed his low grumble when he tells me, “Seems to me you should be a little less happy to see me in your room, considering why I was here last time.”

I smile, unbothered. “I haven’t done anything else wrong,” I tell him, reaching an arm beneath him to see if he wants to come closer.

Brant accepts my invitation, climbing on top of me and grabbing my arms, pushing them over my head and running his hands down the soft, sensitive undersides as he buries his face in my neck.

When he gets that close, I catch a strong scent of whiskey on his breath, but before I can bring it up, he rumbles, “I promise I’ll leave you alone after this.”

My body throbs and I arch my hips up to brush against him. “Don’t promise that,” I whisper back, wrapping my arms around him.

He grabs my arms again, putting them back over my head a little more forcefully. “We can’t be together, and I shouldn’t be wasting your time,” he states. “I won’t, not after this, I just—I need this right now.”

I don’t know exactly what he’s talking about, but it doesn’t matter. Just hearing him say he needs me has my body vibrating with desire, so I keep my arms on the pillow where he put them and spread my legs to make more room for him between them.

“Why’d you have to let that bastard touch you?” he mutters as he drags his lips up my neck.

My tummy flutters with nerves. “What?”

His voice drops. “Fucking Theo.”

I swallow, tilting my neck to give him better access as he trails his kisses from my neck to my jaw. “I don’t know,” I answer, since I’ve already explained all this to him. I don’t think he’s looking for a new answer, I think he just wants to hear me regretting it some more. Maybe I should refuse, but I don’t mind apologizing a little more if that’s what he’s in the mood for. “I’m sorry. I know it was wrong.”

“He didn’t deserve your virginity,” he states.

My stomach rocks and I avert my gaze downward. “I know,” I agree softly.

“He didn’t deserve to touch you, period. You’re too good for him, too good to be seduced by a pretty fucking face.”

Something about the way he says that makes my heart ache, and something within me swells up, fiercely protective. Grabbing his face, I pull him back and make him look at me so he can see I’m serious by the scowl on my face. “Theo’s nothing, Brant. Yours is the only pretty face I want to be seduced by.”

I catch a glint of pleasure in his eyes when I say that, but just as quickly, he fights it off and his gaze hardens. Placing a hand on my abdomen, he says, “The baby in your belly indicates otherwise.”

My stomach drops a little, but I shake it off, running my fingers along his jaw and tenderly cradling his face in my hand. “Like I said, that was a mistake.”

“I wasn’t a mistake?”

My hold on him tightens. Bringing his face close to mine, I shake my head. “No, not you. Everything felt right with you.”

“You think I’m handsome?” he murmurs.

It’s absurd to me that someone as beautiful as Brant could be unaware of it, but maybe that’s why he doesn’t suck like Theo does. Smiling, I nod my head, pushing my fingers through his dark hair and keeping him close. “I think you’re the most gorgeous man I’ve ever laid eyes on, inside and out.”

He sighs with something like pleasure, then dips his head and kisses me right on the mouth.

I’m so floored, I gasp against his lips, my body stiffening at the shock of it. Sparks burst to life inside me, exploding and lighting up my mind so I can’t think of anything but Brant’s hard body pressed against mine as he kisses me.