Page 93 of Begin Again

He groans, deep and guttural. “Fuck, that’s good to know.”

His grip tightens, and he leans in, his lips brushing against mine as he whispers, “You’re gonna be myverygood girl tonight.”

And then he thrusts into me, slow but deep, stretching me open inch by inch, filling me so completely that I can’t do anything but gasp, my fingers digging into his back.

Theo groans, dropping his forehead against mine like he’s barely holding on to his control.

“Fuck, Sweetheart,” he breathes, voice wrecked. “You feelsogoddamn good.”

He pulls back—just enough to slam back in, making me cry out.

“Yeah,” he murmurs, voice all praise, all hunger. “That’s what I want to hear.”

He starts to move, setting a slow, punishing rhythm, making sure I feel every single inch of him.

“Gonna keep you here all night,” he murmurs, dropping a kiss to my throat. “Gonna find out exactly how many times mygood girlcan come for me.”

And judging by the way he’s ruining me, I know he means it.

24

Selene

“You absolutefuckingmenace!”

Morgan’s voice slices through the air like a whip, sharp and furious. The whole room goes still. Even Valkyrie, usually unbothered by shouting, lifts her head from where she’s sprawled on the rug, ears perking up at the tension in the room.

I glance between Morgan and Orion, her face darkens with fury, his jaw clenched tight. He folds his arms, unimpressed, but there’s a heat in his eyes that says he’s just as fired up.

“You think you can just pull that crap and get away with it?” Morgan seethes, pointing an accusatory finger at him.

Orion scoffs. “Why Firefly, you’re acting likeIdid something illegal.”

“You might as well have!” she shoots back. “I trusted you, Orion! I thought we had an understanding.”

“An understanding?” Orion repeats incredulously. “Youwere cheating!Iwas evening the playing field!”

Morgan gasps, scandalized. “Evening the—oh, you are such a sore loser.”

Theo clears his throat beside me, and I can’t hold it in anymore. Celeste’s face is red and tears are shining in her eyes from holding back her laughter. I press a hand over my mouth, trying to stifle my laugh.

It started off as a normal game night—a way to pretend to be normal after last week’s revelations—if anything in this town could be considered normal. Celeste, Morgan, and I had spent the last half hour quietly passing cards beneath the table with our feet, orchestrating a slow and calculated takedown of the men. It had been flawless. An elegant strategy. A masterclass in deception.

Until Theo figured it out.

He must have seen one of us sneaking a card under the table because one second, he was staring at his hand in mild frustration, and the next, he was leaning back in his chair with a slow, dawning realization.

“Wait a second,” he murmured, eyes narrowing. Then, louder, “Are you—are you passing cards under the table?”

Dead silence.

Celeste froze mid-pass, a bright red draw-two Uno card pinched between her toes like she was a deranged card-dealing monkey. Morgan and I exchanged panicked glances, our entire strategy crumbling around us.

It was over. The jig was up.

Orion, always ready to launch himself into a battle he thought he could win, slammed his cards onto the table. “You little traitors! That’s why we’ve been getting obliterated this whole time!”

“You’re just mad we outplayed you,” Celeste replied smoothly, finally dropping the card onto my foot like nothing had happened.