Even after everything I’ve done, here she is, allowing my hands to run along her body, kiss her flesh, and all I can think about is how willing I am to hurt this beautiful human.
I slide off the bed, standing back to watch her writhe against the white sheets. Everything about her is impeccable, undeniably worthy of greatness.
“What are you looking at?” She sits up and reaches around her back to unclasp her bra.
“Damaged goods.” I push my jeans to the floor. “Lucky for both of us, I have a hunger for it.”
She swallows, unreadable as she takes me in. I crawl up the bed to her. “Is that what you think, I’m damaged goods?”
“Do you actually care what I think?” I kiss along her jawline, knowing she needs a distraction. Palmer is inquisitive. She’ll think about every word I speak of her. I need her blinded.
“Not even a little bit.” She reaches between our bodies, running her hand along my dick. I shudder from the initial contact and settle into her movements.
Our bodies, when together, have muscle memory. She knows what I want. I understand what she craves. Tonight, she won’t get what she’s desperate for. She’s sweet and simple, only bending those expectations for me. This moment isn’t about her. It’s about me proving something to myself.
I roll Palmer onto her stomach and grab her hands, placing them on the headboard. “You’ll want to brace yourself, baby.” My fingers bite into her spine, grinding down the length of her back.
She does as she’s told, surprised by my tight grip. Over her shoulder, she watches me.
I’m going to hate to break you, baby.
I bend down, spread her wide to run my tongue along her slit. She jolts forward from the intrusion. Too afraid to admit she enjoys my tongue on her, she drops her eyes. I do it again, earning a deep, guttural moan.
“Don’t hold back. Get me out of your system.” Her small hand reaches around her body, gripping my length and guiding me towards her.
“Headboard.”
She follows my harsh command.
I grab my shaft and rub the tip along her pussy. One thrust, and I’m balls deep in her, feeling the warmth of her around me. Her walls clench me. I thread my fingers through her hair and tug her face back to me. Our lips graze. From this angle, it’s impossible to take her lips how I’d like to.
This feels final.
Our last time.
A whimper escapes her mouth as I pull out. I wrap my arm around her, rolling her onto her back. Urgent to feel me again, she guides me back to her center.
“Take whatever you need,” she whispers. “I’ll be fine.”
I pump in and out of her, gentler than either of us expect.
This is it. This will be our last time once I tell her what I need to.
“I loved Reed,” I say into her ear as I come undone. Her body stills underneath me. “I was in love with her.”
She pushes on my chest, forcing me off her. I roll onto the mattress beside her. Our breath is stuttering from our lungs. She covers her body with the sheets and curls on her side, staring up at one of the skylights.
“Byron and the boys don’t know,” I say to the ceiling.
“Did she?” She rotates enough to look at me over her shoulder.
“The initials? She’s the one who carved them.” I close my eyes, remembering the way Reed giggled as she hurried through etching them into the tree. Memories I’ve kept in the woods take over my senses.
“She loved you, too, then.” There’s a sadness in Palmer’s voice I can’t quite pinpoint. Is she sad her sister loved me, or is she upset I loved her sister?
“If it makes you feel better, she loved Byron, too,” I admit.
“So, what you’re saying is, that first night, I was a second-place trophy, a consolation prize. Because you can’t fuck a dead girl, can you, Marek?” She sits up, wrapping the sheets around her body.
“You’ll never be Reed.” I swing my legs over the edge of the mattress opposite of Palmer and pull on my jeans. “You should have figured that out by now.”
“Go fuck yourself, Marek.” She stands and drops the sheet, giving me an eyeful of the perfect body she’s willingly handed over to me. Anger fuels her as she yanks on her clothes haphazardly. She takes the stairs like her ass is on fire, and she’s trying to escape the flames, her shirt barely over her head