The knock on her door caused Mia to shoot up from her perch on the couch, the remote rolling out of her lap and onto the floor with a thud. She wasn’t expecting company at this hour, but she had a fair guess who she’d find on the other side when she peered through the peephole.
“Mia, please.” Wyatt’s distress when she didn’t open the door carried through the heavy wood.
Mia took a deep breath before unlatching the chain and turning the key, opening the door a crack. Wyatt let out a relieved breath. He looked tired and defeated, his eyes red and his complexion pale.
“I can’t eat, I can’t sleep, you’re everywhere I look, every time I close my eyes I see you, smell you, Ineedyou, Mia.” He took a step forward, his fingers slightly shaking when he reached out to swipe a strand of hair from her forehead. “I need you.”
“I said the word, Wyatt,” Mia whispered, unable to tear herself away from his delicate touch.
“Screw the word.” Wyatt took a step closer, weaving his fingers into her hair and bowing his head down, his lips feathering over hers as he spoke. “Tell me to leave and I will.”
“Wyatt.” His name left her lips on a plea, but it was all she could manage. Going up on her tiptoes, Mia pressed her lips to his. Wyatt’s muscles unwound and a groan shuddered out of him as his arm circled her waist and pulled her close.
The sound of the door slamming shut registered in the back of Mia’s consciousness, but she was wholly occupied with the need to feel Wyatt’s bare skin against hers. They managed to remove all their clothes before reaching the couch, and Wyatt sat, pulling her down to straddle him. He was already sheathed, ready for her, his lips closing around a taut nipple as Mia rubbed herself against the lower ridges of his cock before taking it in her hand and aligning it to her opening.
Mia gasped when she sunk herself over Wyatt, the emptiness she had been struggling with since that night in his flat gone. He pressed his forehead to hers when she started rocking her hips.
“Ma figue de Barbarie,” Wyatt whispered in reverence, his palms sliding down her waist, over the curve of her hips, coming to rest on her thighs.
Wyatt rocked up into her, matching her movements and pushing deeper, pressing his torso against her body to capture her clit between them, sending spirals of pleasure through Mia.
She was holding onto him for dear life, pressing as close as she could with her fingers firmly gripping his hair, but as her body yielded to the pleasure, her heart shattered in her chest knowing it was the last time.
Wyatt had claimed he needed her, but the simple truth was that Mia had given pieces of herself to people who told her she was important only to discard her, and she never got those pieces back. She never intended to give any part of herself to Wyatt but, somehow, she’d lost herself in him completely, and she couldn’t afford what it would cost her when he walked away.
The sound of a ship’s horn coming from her television cleared some of the orgasmic fog in her head, making room for one panicked thought to settle—she shouldn’t have let him in.
Her hands slid from around Wyatt’s neck and down to his chest, palms flattening against it with light pressure.
Wyatt inhaled sharply, arms tightening around her and nose rubbing over her shoulder as he shook his head.
“No,” he whispered, a barely suppressed tremble in his voice. “This isn’t goodbye, Mia, it can’t be goodbye.”
“Wyatt, please,” Mia begged, forcing the sobs down.
Wyatt’s entire body was tense under her, his breathing labored and head still shaking. “Don’t do this.”
“I don’t like you, remember?”
“No, you love me.” He kissed up her neck, soft kisses that burned against her skin as if they were branding her, until his lips pressed against hers and his palms cradled her face, forcing her eyes to meet his when he pulled back. “Youloveme. And I love you. Why isn’t that enough?”
“I said the word.”
“I don’t care.”
“I said the word,” Mia repeated, tears escaping her eyes under Wyatt’s torn gaze.
“I don’t care.”
“I said the word.” They were speaking over each other, repeating the same line as if it were a mantra that could somehow change the reality of their situation.
“I don’t care!” Wyatt finally yelled, causing Mia to startle. “The word only meant something whenwemeant nothing.” He wiped her tears with his thumbs, eyes never leaving hers. “This, us, it meanseverything, Mia.”
Mia’s lip was quivering, a flood threatening to burst from her eyes. “I can’t trust you not to break my heart.”
“You’re the only one doing the breaking,” Wyatt said, his eyes squeezing shut. “I tried. I spent days trying to think of a plan, but everything seemed pointless and stupid, logic just wasn’t working because nothing about us makes sense, Mia, but itfeelsright, it’s always felt right.” Wyatt’s voice cracked, russet eyes full of unshed tears lifting to her face, pleading with her. “I know you’re scared, but I won’t just stop loving you one day.” He wiped away some more of her tears. “I won’t ever stop loving you.”
A sob escaped Mia, and she covered her mouth with her hand, turning her head away from Wyatt.