Page 11 of Betrayed

She’s here.

But she’s not.

I slow. “You’re hiding something from me,” I whisper, pressing my forehead to hers.

She whimpers. “No, I’m not. I’m right here.”

I hold my hip still. “No, you’re not.”

Her nails dig into my back as she pushes her hips against me. “Lucian—please?—”

“Not until you tell me the truth.” I smooth my hand over her hair, gazing down at her.

She blinks fast. Her voice breaks. “I just need to feel you.”

And that...that destroys me. I want to give her what she wants. I want to know why she avoided me. And what’s so bad that she can’t tell me why?

This dance between us, like walking on glass, has to end before we break something we can’t fix.

I kiss her. Hard. Deep.

Then I flip her onto her stomach and pull her hips back.

She gasps. “Lucian?—”

“You need to feel me?” I rasp. “You will.”

When I thrust back into her, she screams.

And I keep going.

Not to punish her.

But to remind her.

This is real. This is us.

Whatever she’s hiding, it stops now.

I won’t let her go without a fight.

Even if that fight happens between tangled sheets and tear-soaked moans.

I hold her hips, growling as I enter her. I collapse on the bed, and moments later, she’s curled against me, still trembling. I stroke her back, her damp skin warm beneath my palm.

I push the hair from her face to kiss her temple. “You okay?”

She nods. But her eyes won’t meet mine.

Something’s wrong. I feel it in her stillness. In the silence that stretches too long between us.

“Erin.” I cup her cheek, force her to look at me. “Tell me what’s going on.”

Her lips part like she wants to answer… but nothing comes—just a broken sigh and another kiss, soft and slow, like goodbye.

Then she finally says, “I’ll tell you. But right now, let’s have this moment.”

I make love to her again. Slower this time. Deep. Searching.