Chapter 16: Her Scars, His Hands

Wylie drove me home that night without a word.

He parked outside my building and turned off the engine, and neither of us got out.

"You don't have to come up," I said.

"I know."

"I'm saying you can."

He looked at me across the dark car.

"Kristen," he said. "If I come up, I'm not leaving at midnight."

"Then bring a toothbrush."

"I have one in my glove box."

"Of course you do."

"I'm a treasurer," he said. "I plan."

I laughed, and it was the first real laugh I'd had in a week.

We made it as far as the elevator.

He backed me against the mirrored wall as the doors closed and put his mouth on mine, hard.

I got both hands under his jacket and pulled his shirt free.

His skin was hot, and his stomach went tight when my nails dragged across it.

"Seven floors," he muttered into my jaw.

"Eight."

"Longer, then."

By the time my key turned in the lock, my blouse was open to the waist and his tie was in my coat pocket.

The door swung shut behind us, and he lifted me off my feet.

I wrapped my legs around him, and he carried me through the dark apartment and set me on the edge of the bed.

He stood there and looked.

My blouse hung off one shoulder, and I could hear how fast I was breathing.

"Tell me what you want," he said.

"Everything. I want everything you've got."

"Tell me where to start."

"My mouth."

He knelt on the mattress and kissed me slowly, then deeper, with his thumb at my jaw.

Keep reading free with an account. Start Severed Mother-Daughter Ties from Chapter 1, then sign up free to read the rest of this chapter.