She shook her hand like a dying butterfly. “Of course. Sorry, I know you’re busy. I’ll…I’ll get out of your way.” With lowered shoulders, she padded back into the bathroom. The door started to close but not before I saw the ghost glitter of tears in her eyes.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
I wanted her to keep her distance. I’d been cruel and cold to achieve that. If it was up to me, I’d have grabbed her the second I entered the suite and have her sitting on my face this very fucking moment.
But I wasn’t healthy.
My needs weren’t right.
She had to stay away for her sake and mine.
But I couldn’t stomach her pain or live with myself knowing I was the cause of it.
“Pim, wait.” Striding forward, I slammed my hand on the door, keeping it open.
Her lips parted. “What are you—”
I couldn’t concentrate on anything but her mouth and the delicate wings of her collarbones and the pinkness of her freshly showered skin. Screw her past, her mother, our future.
Pushing the door wide, I scooped her up one armed and shot forward to place her on the vanity. Her weight transferred to the marble basin, her legs dangling, eyes wild with uncertainty.
I hated that uncertainty.
I hated my uncertainty and the awful fucking knowledge I now carried. The debt of knowing something she didn’t and having to tell her when I would give anything not to.
“I missed you, too.” Cupping her face with both hands, I kissed her.
She melted into my touch. One moment hurting and untrusting. The next welcoming and liquid. She tasted of cool water and mint toothpaste, her skin damp and hot.
Her head tilted to kiss me deeper, her tongue a skilled serpent making my head swim and rules shatter and self-control fray at the edges.
I lost my grip on sanity and hooked my fingers around her hips. Dragging her toward the edge of the vanity, I slotted myself between her legs.
She moaned as I shoved the towel aside and rubbed my hard-on against her. Her lips parted faster than before, more sure and confident than our other shared connections. Her tongue fought mine before I had the chance to manipulate the kiss. Her exploration brave and bold, sending every drop of blood to my cock.
The pent-up aggression from holding myself back last night overflowed.
I ripped off the rest of her towel—past caring I might hurt her.
She wobbled on the vanity, her hands locking onto my shoulders. All I wanted to do was push down my jeans and enter her.
To ride her like she wanted me to.
To remind us that two broken things could become whole when bound together in bed.
Her fingers feathered over my chest to my belt. Her touch grazed my cock as she struggled to get the buckle undone while I wedged so tight against her.
I stood on the precipice—seconds away from leaning back, letting her strip me, and hoisting her up to slip inside her.
But one thing stopped me.
One thing I held onto to prevent myself from fucking this up even more than I had.
Her mother.
Pim was no longer mine. She’d never been mine. She belonged to a parent. A parent who’d done unspeakable things. A parent who didn’t deserve her but still had ownership over this incredible woman who was her daughter.
“Pim…stop.” Pulling away, I clamped hands on her arms, pinning her down, stopping her fingers from opening my fly. “I’m not doing this again.”
She blinked, dazed and heated. “But—”
“I told you last night. I would only sleep with you once.” I let her go, backing away and dragging hands through my hair. “It’s over.”
Damp chocolate strands clung to her collarbone as she shook her head. “But I thought—”
“You thought nothing. We had our fun, and now we’re leaving.” Turning my back on her agony—the agony I’d caused—I muttered, “I’ll drop you off at the Phantom. I have to return to the warehouse for a few hours.” Bracing my hand on the doorjamb, I didn’t let her see my back-breaking pain. How my guts lassoed my heart and hung me out to dry. How my body trembled to spin around and drag her to the tiled floor. To mount her. To kiss her. To fuck her until we both couldn’t survive.
In a way, I was glad Selix had given me such terrible news. I focused on that. It gave me a boundary I couldn’t cross. I used it now, replacing what I wanted with what was best for Pim.
I cleared my throat, still tasting her on my tongue. “Once I finish work, we need to talk.”
I’ll tell you something you won’t want to hear.
The sound of her jumping off the vanity followed by a soft groan of pain from abused bones tingled the back of my neck. Her electrical presence came closer. The softest flutter of her hand landed on my back. “If you need to talk…talk to me now.”