“And you think I do care?” I ask like a dick.
She rubs the side of her nose with her index finger.Fucking adorable.
“Sometimes.”
Sometimes is enough.
For now.
I was so intent on leaving earlier, but instead, I do something I’ve never done before.
I stay.
24
CECILY
“Can you guys like not?”
I slide my attention to Annika, realizing I zoned out, but it was the good kind this time.
I was sort of daydreaming about two days ago when Jeremy not only let me stay, but he also actually slept beside me.
Or more like, I slept sandwiched between him and the edge of the sofa. I woke up a bit achy due to the position and the cramped space, but I didn’t have another instance of sleep paralysis.
It didn’t happen last night either.
Last night, however, he did fuck me on the deck with my head hanging above the lake while I screamed and begged and called his name, but after that, he stepped in the shower with me, and then he carried me to the bed upstairs.
Something that’s never happened before.
I didn’t have to ask him to stay or feel like I had to walk on eggshells so as not to provoke his monster side.
In fact, he’s the one who pulled me on his lap when I was trying to put some clothes on and kind of made us sleep like that.
Naked. With his large body wrapped around me.
Another first.
Before, Jeremy was always clothed in some way, even while he set my world ablaze. I figured it was because he needed to put a barrier between us and to make it clear that whatever we have is exclusive to using each other’s bodies.
But a shift happened two nights ago. It started when he sat me on his lap and was content with talking to me instead of fucking me the moment he saw me.
Some sort of a connection blossomed between us that night, which is probably why I felt safe and offered him truths I don’t usually talk about to anyone.
In return, I caught a glimpse of Jeremy’s depths. Not the beast who chased and caught me, but of the man who used to keep me at arm’s length.
He still shut me down the moment I started to probe, but he at least stayed. And last night, we slept flesh-to-flesh.
I think that was because he needed to have access to me the next morning, but that’s not important.
The fact that he’s letting me in is.
Despite not wanting to get tangled in his web, I most certainly am. At the moment, I can’t find a way out—and I’m not sure I want to.
I meant it when I said that I plan to get to know him, because I do. Not only do I feel completely safe around him—despite his warnings not to—but I also like myself when I’m with him.
I’m more open about what I enjoy sexually and I even get to be my nerdy self and talk about my mangas and studies without sensing that he’s getting bored.