beautiful.”
I swallow at the meaning carefully hidden in her words. She’s not scared of the night or the darkness. She’s a woman now. That’s the simplest explanation. Or maybe…
“Beautiful, but terrifying,” she adds softly. “I still wonder if I’ll get lost out there.”
“I’ll find you,” I promise her, sliding my palms to her hips. I’m on my knees before she can say anything else, gripping her hips. I nip her backside on my descent. The gesture startles her, so I kiss the spot in silent entreaty. She seems to understand because she widens her stance. My tongue dips and licks a stripe down her center. The container falls into the sink, and Clara clutches the counter, a loud moan spilling from her.
“I’ll always find you,” I vow before covering her sex with my mouth. I continue my assault with long, slow strokes and nips to her clit until her legs begin to shake. She unspools on my tongue, flooding my tongue with the sweet taste of her arousal. I devour her until her mutinous thighs clamp tightly around my head.
I push to my feet, finding her eyes bright, despite her shaky limbs. I grab her shirt—my shirt—and pull her to me. There’s no resistance as I lift her and carry her up the stairs. We make it to the top before I can’t wait a moment longer. Pressing her against the wall, I kiss her slowly, grinding against the cradle of her hips. The arms coiled around my neck tighten with each teasing circle.
“Pants,” she gasps out the one-word command.
I brace her carefully and reach to unfasten the jeans I’ve thrown on. She shoves at them with the heel of her feet. They fall to the floor, and I step out of them with deliberation as she unwraps one hand from my neck. It finds my cock, stroking it until I take over and angle it at her entrance. I nudge inside her, but Clara pushes her hips so impatiently, I nearly lose my hold on her. Smashing her against the wall, I sheath myself in her fully. She meets every thrust, taking me deeper and harder with each one.
“It will always be like this,” I murmur, burying my face against her neck. Her cunt clamps down hard like she’s locking away this promise, and I spill inside her. Then I carry her to bed to make more promises.
Cold realization wakes me. The bed is empty. No note. Warm sheets. I strain, hoping to hear her in the bathroom, but somehow knowing I won’t. A million memories flood through me but only two words.
“One night.”
I’d been too stupid to hear them clearly yesterday, too blinded by the words I couldn’t bring myself to say, to translate what she was really saying then:
Goodbye.
I’m out of bed in one bound, grabbing a pair of jeans I’d left on the stairwell as we made our way up from the kitchen after midnight. I push against the memory, not wanting to stain the happiness I’d felt then with the truth I face now. I’d been foolish enough to think her smiles and laughter, her breathy moans and kisses, meant more than farewell.
Had she even felt what I was trying to show her, or was she too busy saying goodbye?
The kitchen is across from the stairs, and as I move down them, I see a pad of paper resting on the counter—and her key. I nearly collapse.
One night.
Why did I think it would be enough?
Before I crash down the last few steps, I regain my footing and make it safely to the hall. Clara stands at the door, dressed with her back to me. I refuse to feel the hope that tries to spark inside me. Instead, I set my shoulders and drop the jeans still in my hand.
“This is it?” I ask.
She whirls around me, her eyes widening slightly to find me there. They rake down me. Naked. Vulnerable. An offering like the one she made yesterday. One I’d taken.
She hesitates, and I let myself believe she’d take my offer, too. Until she lifts her hand in warning. “I’m sorry.”
No.
No.
No.
The word screams in my head, but I lock it up.
“Clara.” Her name tastes bitter on my lips and sweet. It’s possibility. It’s plea. I fill my next with all the words I can’t say and pray she hears them. “Please.”
Her eyes close, and an eternity passes before she delivers the final blow. “I can’t be your secret.”
Gone. It’s the only word that processes as