Page 36 of A Lab Rat’s Guide to Fated Love

She claimed his lips in response, pressing herself to him, skin against skin.

He couldn’t differentiate between the pebbled lattices on her body, or the goosebumps that were his.

And the frenzied desire that radiated out of her, or the absolute need that was his.

A distant part of his mind cautioned him to be careful. But he couldn’t remember why.

Just a bit more , he bargained, while his hands trailed down her spine, easing into the elastic of her pants, while his erection strained uncomfortably against his.

Back off. Now. He swore under his breath, pulling his hands off her before his dumb body could go any further. “We should stop.”

“I don’t want to stop.”

“But I’m worried—”

“Stop worrying about me!” Nori snapped. “Am I never going to be able to touch you? Or feel you touch me? Aren’t you sick of this already—sick of me ?” she whispered the last bit, right before her breath hitched into a sob.

She turned around and climbed under the covers, where she lay curled into a tight ball, not making a sound.

Vir swallowed painfully against the lump in his throat. Did she know how badly he wanted to touch her? And how afraid he was of hurting her?

She did. She knew. And it broke her heart. Just as it broke his.

Crawling in beside Nori, he pulled her to him and lay holding her with her back flush against his chest.

“I’m sorry. I love you.” He kissed her hair.

Nori shook with quiet sobs, her tears dripping into the crease of his elbow.

“I want to touch you,” he said after a while, once she’d stopped crying. “I can’t tell you how badly I want to.”

“Then touch me.”

“Nori…”

“I mean it. Touch me.” She was so calm.

Vir frowned against her cheek. There was something different about her. He couldn’t quite put a finger on what it was exactly, but she felt so… sure.

Nori craned her neck around to press her lips to his. And slowly, his mouth began to respond, growing thirstier, greedier as the kiss deepened. It felt like no time had passed, like they were picking things right where they’d left off minutes ago.

“Nori,” he gasped as her hand reached behind her and cupped him. “Are you sure? ”

“Yes, Vir, touch me,” she answered with a slight shiver as his lips brushed against her neck. He moved them slowly to her jaw, savoring every inch, taking his time in case she changed her mind still.

“Vir,” she whispered, her palm molding around his erection through the fabric of his pants.

He bit his lip, trying to keep his restraints intact—whatever was left of them, anyway. His hand slipped down her belly, under the elastic, and into the hot, slick pool between her legs.

Vir groaned.

With a soft whimper, Nori pressed herself into him, and his hand dipped even lower.

He paused, his breathing ragged and uneven, waiting to feel a change in her. A hint. Anything. But Nori burned in his arms. She was raw desire and love and want. And nothing else.

His thumb drew slow circles between her legs, switching the pressure and strokes to her responses while she squirmed against him, panting and moaning and making other sounds that drove him a little north of insane.

Nuzzling his face into her straining neck, drinking her scent in, he let a gentle finger slide inside her.

“Nori,” he rasped, “more?”

“Yes,” she begged. “Please.”

He slid in another and she gasped.

Within seconds, she was trembling against him, her core tightening around his fingers as they curved inside her. She was close. But so was he. And he was dizzy with need.

He ground himself into her hand, biting his lip, while his fingers teased her closer to the edge.

“Wait, not like this.” Nori tugged on his pants, craning her neck to look at him again.

Vir stared into her eyes, feeling everything she felt, while searching for any sign that told him to back off. He found none. There was, however, the molten fire that seemed to still want him. And he wanted nothing more than to be consumed by it.

He peeled his pants off and helped her out of hers before devouring her mouth again. Their bodies pressed together, flesh molding into flesh, without any more barriers or restraints. And inch by slow inch, he slid himself into her.

Nori moaned against his mouth, her emotions peaking and matching his. Soon, they were moving together, meeting stroke for delicious stroke.

Right when Vir thought he might tip over, Nori cried out from her orgasm and bit down on his lip. It instantly sent him over the edge, too. He groaned into her collarbone as wave after wave shook him.

“Nori…” he whispered into her neck, sweaty, breathless, spent.

He shifted so they lay facing each other, and she smiled sleepily at him, her cheeks flushed red.

And now she feels shy.

Vir chuckled, reading tiny sparks of mortification sprouting out of her.

“Bathroom,” Nori mumbled, rolling away from him.

His silly grin refused to leave his face as he watched her pull her clothes back on, the red in her cheeks growing more saturated with each passing second. He, too, reached for his pants and slid them on.

With one last glance towards him, Nori took a step away. And before she could take another, like a marionette with its strings cut off, she collapsed to the floor in a heap.