Page 60 of Hide From Me

The sight in front of me shouldn't make me feel so aroused, but there's no stopping my body's reaction. She’s gorgeous, her lips parted and damp from where she licked them, her eyes darting between mine—hooded and dark. It likely has to do with the fact that she's wearing a piece of me right now, and she looks so incredibly natural in it.

“Wear a mask? You think that’ll help?” she scoffs.

“It will. You can pretend to be someone else.” I smile wider as her eyes crinkle, scrunching her nose slightly. “ It makes it easier.”

“How would you know?”

“Because I wear one every day,” I hum. I lean in closer, barely ghosting my lips over hers, but I pull away as she leans in, trying to close the gap. It’s funny how she never wanted to kiss me, but now that she’s had a taste, it’s as if she can't stop herself from wanting more—just like I knew she would.

“Do you wear one with me?” she whispers, and I’m already bending down to kiss her throat when she asks it. The question makes me hesitate.

Do I?

Maybe. Maybe not. Each piece I’ve shown her is still a part of me… just not the whole truth.

“We were talking about my father. My brother has the resources to find him, yet he refuses.” I huff out a breath. Here I go again, giving her more of myself than I bargained for, but I still have that idiotic hope that maybe it’ll help bring her closer to me as if sharing this burden will ease some of the pressure on my shoulders, letting someone else carry the weight with me.

I can’t bring myself to look at her, so I return my mouth to her neck, kissing down to her collarbone. Her head tilts towards the high-rise ceiling.

“You have a seriously confusing life.” Raylen breathes out, and I huff a laugh against her skin as I drag my hands down to her hips, teasing the waistline of her jeans.

“You have no idea how confusing it gets, baby.”

“Maybe he’s just trying to protect you,” she says softly.

My jaw clenches.Of course he is. That’s the problem.

“I don’t need protecting,” I mutter. “I need answers.”

I slowly push her shirt up, exposing her skin inch by inch. This was supposed to be my way of getting her to open up, but somehow, I’m the one unraveling.

“I need to know I’m more than just a piece in someone else’s story,” I huff, a little more aggressively than I intend to, so I lower my voice. “Do you know what that feels like?”

“Yes.” The word slips from her lips just as I press my body between her legs, letting the fabric fall to the crate.

I don't know if she’s responding to my question or the pressure of my thigh against her cunt. Either way, I need to know more.

“How?”

“I once gave everything to someone. I thought that if I loved him deeply enough, it would teach him how to love me back.” Her voice trembles. “Instead, he just… broke me.”

There it is—that crack in her armor. I want to tear it wide open.

“It sucks,” she whispers. “Being someone else’s character development.”

“Not if it’s the right person,” I say with a grin, but she rolls her eyes, and my fingers tighten around her thighs.

Don’t shut down. Not now.

I tap her leg, and she lifts her hips, letting me peel her jeans down. I toss them aside and let my hands glide along her bare thighs.

“Moe…”

That voice—soft and broken—makes my cock twitch.

“Too intimate,” she murmurs.

I growl under my breath.