Page 33 of Dual

We're not like other couples. We can't be reckless and passionate, falling into bed on a whim. But we have this: quiet mornings, gentle touches, and a love that doesn't need physical consummation to be real.

For now, it has to be enough. At least until I can figure out how to fix this—how to fixme.

I press my hand against my abdomen, thinking of the pill I just discarded and the future I'm trying to secure.

"Chocolate chips in your pancakes?" Domhnall asks, glancing over his shoulder with a smile that makes my heart twist.

"Always," I reply, smiling back, letting the warmth of his gaze wash over me.

And if I have to fight to keep this warmth, this love, this man...

Then that's exactly what I'll do.

TWELVE

DOMHNALL

After breakfast,I watch as Anna shoves the laundry into the dryer, her movements more forceful than necessary. Her shoulders are tense, but she's smiling—one of those smiles that doesn't quite reach her eyes.

She turns, catches me watching her, and her cheeks flush.

Christ, she's beautiful—so beautiful it physically hurts to look at her sometimes. Last night with Mads replays in my mind—the darkness of it, the way she demanded and took and gave. And the way I unleashed parts of myself I've been keeping chained. The soreness I no doubt left in the body that Anna woke to.

"You're staring." Anna's voice is soft as she walks past meback toward the kitchen. Her hand brushes mine as she passes. A deliberate, lingering touch.

I follow her, drawn as much like a moth to flame as I ever was. "Can't help it. You're feckin' gorgeous."

My brogue slips through when I'm tired, or hungry, or—like now—when I'm fighting to keep my hands to myself. My body aches with the restraint. You'd have thought a night like last night would've made it better, but it's actually the exact opposite. I've just eaten, but I'm starved all over again.

She rolls her eyes but smiles, this time with heat in it. As she reaches for her coffee cup on the counter, I move behind her and slide my arms around her waist, unable to stop myself.

She freezes for half a second, and I hate myself, about to pull back. But she snatches my wrist to hold me there, then relaxes back against me with a sigh that sends blood rushing south. She fits against me perfectly, the curve of her back meeting my bare chest like she was made for me. I'm still in just a towel wrapped around my waist. I haven't dressed yet for the day.

"Is this okay?" My lips brush her ear as I fight to steady myself.

She nods, pressing back more firmly. I can't help the hard-on poking her soft ass. "More than okay," she whispers in a breathy little voice that only has me going stiffer.

We stand like that for a moment, her heart beating against my palm. Then she turns in my arms to face me, her eyes darker than they were a moment ago.

"Can we try something?" she asks, her voice dropping to a register that makes my skin prickle.

"Anything," I reply, meaning it completely. "Anything you want, love."

She lifts those stunning golden eyes to mine, and I see hunger there that steals my breath. "Could we... maybe just kiss for a while?Reallykiss?"

I swallow hard, my pulse thundering in my ears. We've kissed since she came back, of course—careful, chaste things that have left me aching.

"Are you sure?" I need to be certain.

Instead of answering, she rises onto her toes and presses her mouth to mine.

This isn't like our careful kisses of the past weeks. This is hungry, desperate, her fingers digging into my shoulders like she's afraid I'll pull away. I groan against her mouth, my hands moving to her waist, holding her steady as her body sways toward mine.

"Anna," I breathe when she breaks the kiss, both warning and question.

"I want this." Her soft voice is ragged. "I'm so tired of being afraid, Domhn. I'm tired of feeling like my body isn't mine. I want to feel you. I want to feel us."

I take her face in my hands, searching her eyes. Is this because of last night? Because of the soreness she most likely woke to this morning? Or even if it is, does she feel her own need pulsing in the aftermath?