“What are you doing?”
“I can’t leave you like this, Rogue. You look broken. I’m not going until I see a smile on your face.”
She offered me a fake smile, and I shook my head.
“Not good enough.” I moved to the freezer, pulling out a tub of ice cream, then I searched the cupboards for candy, finding some and tipping it in, handing her the tub and a spoon. Taking it from me, she walked to the sofa, placing it on the coffee table before she sat.
“Now, I know nothing is that bad that you’d say no to food,” I said, sitting down beside her.
A small laugh escaped her lips, and she poked her finger into the ice cream, licking it off with a nod. “It’s a nice mix, thanks.” But she didn’t take another taste, so I knew she was far from okay.
“Would a hug help?”
She shrugged, staring blankly at the floor in front of her like all her spirit and fire had been extinguished. I moved, wrapping my arms around her, but she felt too far away. I lifted her onto my lap and sank my fingers into the back of her hair, guiding her to nestle her face against my neck. We stayed for a while as I let her sadness seep from her, absorbing as much as I could because I longed to make her happy again.
“I thought I’d finally found someone to love me, but even that wasn’t real. I don’t understand why I’m so unloveable,” she whispered against my skin, her voice heavy with tears.
“That’s not true. Your brothers, Addi, Emmy, your family. They all love you,” I reminded her as I twisted her hair between my fingers.
“That’s not what I mean. I mean someone who loves me, who wants me. Do you know that until Jimmy I’d never had a relationship? Men get too scared of the rich drummer, who spends her life traveling the world. And now I have to wonder if anyone who acts like they’re interested is just in it for the exposure or the money. I’m never going to be enough for anyone or I’m always going to be too much.”
I felt her tears on my bare chest as I pulled her tighter.What am I supposed to say? How do I make her feel better?So, I did the only thing that made any sense. I lifted her face to mine, and I kissed her.
Frankie
Hislipsbrushedagainstme so tentatively at first that I wondered if I was dreaming, but as I parted mine in a silent gasp, his tongue slipped into my mouth and things intensified quickly. We’d kissed that night in his room, but this felt different. Hands cupping my cheeks, he pressed his lips to mine with more purpose, his tongue exploring my mouth, making me feel like he was stealing my sadness and replacing it with another emotion I couldn’t explain.
I don’t know how long we stayed like that because time lost all meaning. Our chests heaved, lips swelled, and his beard grazed my skin, but still, neither of us came up for air.
Without missing a beat, Matt tugged my thighs until I straddled him, his swollen cock tenting his joggers, pressing against my leg. While our mouths devoured each other, our hands moved to explore each other’s bodies. I ran my hands from his neck, over his shoulders, and across his pecks—avoiding his tattoo—feeling the solid wall of his warm skin beneath my hands.
His hands found their way beneath my top, skimming my hips and caressing my back. Desperate to feel my skin against his, I broke our kiss, pulling my top off and throwing it to the floor. Matt pulled back, staring at me with hooded eyes, taking in my exposed breasts.
“You are so beautiful. I could look at your forever.”
Pulling me to him so my breasts crushed against his chest, his hand wrapped around the nape of my neck and his mouth found the tender spot beneath my ear. As his scruff brushed against me, I groaned loudly.
I could feel his heart hammering in his chest as I rolled his hard nipple between my thumb and finger, wanting to feel this giant man react to my touch. He responded by yanking my hips forward so my legging-covered entrance pressed against his shaft, working me so I rubbed hard against him.
“Fuck, you feel so good,” he husked out.
“Matt—” I panted.
“Kiss me. Please.” His eyes lifted, silently begging me and how could I resist? Skimming my fingers along his jaw, I brought his mouth up to meet mine.
I kissed him slowly, pressing my tongue against the seam of his lips, seeking more. His body melted back into the sofa, taking me with him. His palms cupped my breasts, caressing them, twisting my nipples, while his mouth fused with mine. It felt so familiar; as if we’d been making out forever. His hands knew what I wanted, and his mouth gave me what I craved. I was so wet I could feel it between my thighs, my body screaming out for him. He moved down to my hips, sliding his fingers under the waistband of my bottoms, lowering them.
I froze, suddenly coming to my senses. Sighing, I pulled back from him; my brain and my heart telling me to stop, but my body begging me to continue.
“Matt… we can’t,” I panted out. “You’ve made it clear that you can’t do this, and I can’t be rejected by you again. I just can’t.” He stared at me, sadness filling his eyes. Skimming his fingers up over my body, I arched my back, desperate for one more moment with him, because I knew what was coming.
“If we do this, I can’t have you change your mind afterward. I can’t have you ghost me. If we do this, it’s because you really want me. If you can’t give me that, then I’m happy to stay friends. I don’t want to lose you, but I also can’t do this if there’s the slightest chance you’re going to run afterward, and it ruin everything. You’re too important to me. I can’t lose you.”
His head fell to my shoulder, and it took him a moment to steady his breath, obviously trying to find the right words to reply.
“Rogue, I want you so much it hurts. Honestly, I think about you all the time. I know it’s my job, but I don’t think about Tanner or the twins as much as I think about you.” I stared down at him as he cupped my cheek, his cock still hard between my legs and our bare chests rubbing against each other as he spoke.
“I want to be the first person you see when you open those beautiful eyes and the last person you touch before you go to sleep. I want to feed you all the food and buy you countless pairs of weird pajamas, knowing I’ll be the one to see you in them every night. I want to do the filthiest things to your body until you scream my name, I want to make you smile and I want to keep you safe.”