room, my thoughts coming to a halt, too.
Silver sits on the chair by my desk — or, rather, sleeps. Her head lies on a book she must’ve been reading, her blonde strands half-camouflaging her face.
Her oversized T-shirt for the day is pink and barely reaches the middle of her naked thighs.
For a moment, I stand there and watch her.
For a moment, I soak in the image.
She came back.
Not only did she not stay at her mother’s, but she also came to my room.
She was waiting for me.
Fuck. I shouldn’t be feeling like a giddy teenager with a crush on the school’s queen B, but it’s there. The…joy.
Silver has never come to me before, not willingly. Not even as a pretence. She has walls so high, I thought I would never be able to climb over them no matter how much I tried.
And I did try.
I tried every fucking trick under the sun.
A part of me is still pissed off about the whole Adam thing, but now that I know he’ll disappear for good, some of that anger vanishes.
Besides, I can’t actually be mad at her when she’s sleeping. She looks so pure and peaceful.
I gently pull her hand away to catch the title of the book she’s been reading.
Nausea.
A small smile grazes my lips as I carefully wrap one hand around her back and the other under her legs and carry her in my arms. Her head falls against my chest with a satisfied moan.
She’s so beautiful, it’s fucking me up.
And it’s not only her external beauty, it’s everything about her, from her insecurities to her affectionate and responsible side.
It’s just her.
I sit on the bed and manoeuvre her so she’s half-lying atop me, her back leaning against my chest and her legs tucked between mine.
My fingers stroke the sensitive spot in her neck. She moans, and this time, her eyes flutter open.
Fine, so I was being a dick and woke her up. But I needed to see those baby blues.
For a second, she seems disoriented, then her lips break into a smile as she stares up at me, her head lying on my bicep.
“What are you doing here, Silver?”
The smile slowly vanishes. “Mum has a late-night meeting at the party and I don’t like staying there alone. Besides…”
“Yes?”
“I don’t want to run away anymore.”
“And you decided to come to my room?”
She nods.
“If I remember correctly, you ran away when I told you to wait in the car earlier. Do you think you can come and go as you wish, Silver?”
“Cole…”
“Answer the fucking question.”
“I was scared, okay? You can be scary sometimes.” She half-turns so she’s tucked in my lap and glides her fingers across my chest. “But when I got to Mum’s and knew she wouldn’t be home, I was restless. I met Adam there the other time, you know. He said his uncle lives there, but he doesn’t. So I was scared he’d come find me.”
That fucker. I should’ve punched him a few more times.
“I couldn’t stay there,” she murmurs. “You’re the only person I wanted to see.”
I try not to let those words consume me, but I fail. All I can do is watch her — the rosy hue on her cheeks, the relaxation in her shoulders as she snuggles into me.
“Are you still mad at me?” she whispers.
“Depends.”
“On what?”
“On whether or not you hide things from me again.”
She gulps. “I won’t.”
“You won’t, huh?”
“No.”
“Adam is gone,” I tell her. “He’ll be forced to transfer tomorrow. You won’t have to worry about him again.”
Her eyes light up and widen like when we were kids. And just like then, I would do anything to bring that expression again. “Really?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.” She plants sloppy kisses on my lips, my cheek, my jaw. “Thank you, thank you.”
It’s like she’s back to being a little girl, but I’m the only one who gets to see this side of her.
Just me. And it’ll remain this way for as long as we both breathe.
I reach my fingers under her T-shirt.
“Cole, what are you doing?” She swallows, her expression morphing from excitement to arousal.
“Punishment.”
“P-punishment?”
“You think you can hide things from me, flip me off and run away without paying the price?”
My fingers find her bare pussy and I grunt as her arousal coats my skin. “Looks like you’ve come ready for your punishment, Butterfly.”
Her breathing hitches as I thrust two fingers inside her.
“You’ll never lie to me again?”
“N-no.” Her thighs clench around me.
“Run away from me?”
“No…” It comes out as a moan as I pound