Page 27

Quinn

The weight of North’s body pressed into mine, his breath warm against my skin, his presence inescapable. Every thrust sent heat surging through me, my body betraying the storm of emotions twisting in my chest. My hands curled against his shoulders, nails biting into his skin as I tried to hold on—to something, anything—but there was nothing but him.

I gasped as he moved, my head tipping back. His lips found my throat, marking me, claiming me, as if I had ever belonged to anyone else. His grip on my waist tightened, his fingers pressing hard enough to bruise.

“I saw the tests,” he murmured, tracing kisses on my skin. “Have you taken one yet?”

“No,” I sobbed, unable to lie to him. My body arched into his, my traitorous hips lifting to meet his every movement. There were signs that I was pregnant—but I could barely believe it, and I’d been far too fucking heartbroken to see if it was true.

“I would rather die than have your baby,” I choked out, the words barely a whisper between us.

His lips curved into a smirk against my skin. “Liar.”

I wanted to shove him away, to push him out of my life for good. But my body betrayed me, clinging to him, responding to every shift, every whispered word. North knew me too well, knew exactly how to unravel me until all that was left was raw, aching need.

“I love you,” he murmured, his fingers dragging down my side, igniting a shiver I couldn’t suppress.

I clenched my jaw, refusing to give him what he wanted. “This doesn’t mean anything.”

“Bullshit.” North snarled at me. His hands slid lower, gripping my hips and pulling me tighter against him, filling me so completely that I felt owned in a way I never had before. His breath was hot against my ear, his voice a promise and a threat.

“I’m gonna fill you up, Quinn,” he rasped, thrusting deeper. “Gonna put my baby in you. Make sure you never forget who you belong to.”

A sharp, startled moan tore from my lips. Heat curled in my stomach, pleasure and panic tangling together in a dangerous mix. “North—”

“You feel that?” he murmured, his lips brushing my jaw as he drove into me harder. “Your body knows. It’s begging for it.”

I shook my head, but it was useless. I was already too far gone, my walls clenching around him, my breath coming in ragged gasps. My fingers curled into his hair, pulling, trying to ground myself, but he just groaned in approval, his grip on me unrelenting.

“You’re gonna take it all, baby,” he continued, his voice rough, desperate. “Every last drop until your pussy’s puffy and swollen, and so fucking full that it’s leaking out of you.”

His words shattered the last bit of resistance inside me. My climax hit me hard, sharp, and consuming, my body tightening around him as a cry escaped my lips. North followed seconds later, his movements turning erratic, his grip on me bruising as he groaned my name, his release spilling deep inside me.

He didn’t let me go. Not even as the tremors faded, not even as our breaths slowed. He stayed wrapped around me, his lips brushing over my temple, his voice softer now, but no less certain.

“You knew what you were getting into, baby,” he murmured, his fingers tracing my hip possessively. “You can’t tell me it’s nothing now.”

I swallowed hard, my mind still spinning, my body still trembling from the force of it all. I should have pushed him away. I should have told him this was a mistake.

But I didn’t.

Because the worst part?

I wanted what he wanted, too.

I was still going to argue, though. He didn’t get to break my heart and then come back like it didn’t happen.

The sound of our ragged breathing filled the silence between us. My body was still trembling, every nerve alight with sensation, every inch of me aching from the way he had just taken me—owned me. But my mind? My mind was screaming at me to push him off, to fight, to do something other than lay here and let him hold me like I was something precious, something worth keeping.

I wasn’t.

North’s arms were locked around me, his body pressed against mine like he was afraid I’d disappear if he let go. His lips, still swollen from our kiss, rested against my temple, a silent plea I wasn’t ready to acknowledge.

I swallowed hard, forcing my voice to be steady. “You don’t get to do this.”

He exhaled sharply, his fingers flexing against my waist. “Do what?”

I turned my head, barely resisting the shiver that crawled down my spine as his lips brushed against my skin. “Pretend this means something.”

His grip tightened, his body going rigid. “Pretend?”

I forced myself to nod, even as everything inside me rebelled against it. “That’s all this is, North. A game. A fucked-up, toxic, obsessive game we both need to stop playing.”

I needed him to prove to me that this wasn’t the case.

He was silent for a long moment, his breath warm against my cheek. Then, slowly, he pushed up on his forearms, just enough to hover above me, his stormy blue-gray eyes burning into mine.

“You really believe that?”

I licked my lips, my throat suddenly dry. “I have to.”

North studied me, his expression unreadable. Then, so softly I almost missed it, he murmured, “Liar.”

My pulse pounded. “It doesn’t matter what I believe. I left, North. I left for a reason.”

His jaw clenched, his hands tightening around my hips. “And yet, you let me in.”

He wasn’t talking about my apartment, he’d broken in without letting me know. He was talking about my legs and my heart. A bitter laugh escaped me. “Like you ever gave me a choice.”

His eyes darkened. “You always had a choice, Quinn.”

I shoved against his chest, needing space, needing air. “If that’s true, then I’m making it now. I want you to leave.”

He didn’t move.

I swallowed back the lump in my throat, forcing myself to meet his gaze. “North.”

He exhaled, his thumb brushing over my hip in a slow, agonizing caress. “I don’t believe you.”

I bit my lip, hating the way my body still burned for him, even now. “I don’t care what you believe. You can’t just show up here, break into my room, and act like that’s normal.”

A muscle ticked in his jaw. “You didn’t answer my calls.”

“Because I didn’t want to talk to you.”

His expression hardened. “So, what? You were just going to pretend I didn’t exist? Pretend none of this happened? And if you were pregnant? What then?”

“That was the plan.” I didn’t know what to do about the rest.

North made a low, frustrated sound in his throat. “Too fucking bad, Quinn. Because I’m not going anywhere.”

A sharp, bitter laugh escaped me. “You don’t get to make that decision for me.”

His hand slid to my throat, his grip firm but not tight, his thumb resting against the frantic pulse beneath my skin. His gaze softened, but the intensity in his eyes never wavered. “I don’t care how much you fight me on this. I don’t care how much you run. You’re not leaving me, Quinn.”

I clenched my jaw, refusing to let the weight of his words sink in. “I don’t belong to you.”

His fingers flexed against my throat. “Yes, you do.”

I opened my mouth—to snap, to scream, to tell him exactly how much I fucking hated him—but then he moved. His lips brushed mine, slow and devastating, and before I could stop myself, I gasped, my resolve slipping through my fingers like sand.

He swallowed the sound, his grip on me tightening as he deepened the kiss as if he could consume every ounce of my resistance. And maybe he could. Because the second his tongue slid against mine, the second his body pressed fully against me again, all of my anger, my pain, my hatred—it melted into something darker, something far more dangerous.

Desperation.

I grabbed his face, pulling him down as I arched into him as if I could disappear inside the chaos he created, hoping I could drown in it completely. Maybe I already had.

His groan vibrated through me, his hands roaming, gripping, claiming, and I let him. I let him take whatever he wanted because no matter how much I hated him, no matter how much I wanted to pretend I could live without him, the truth was simple.

I couldn’t.

And that terrified me more than anything.

North tore his mouth from mine, his breath heavy against my lips. “You still want me to leave?”

I should’ve said yes. I should’ve pushed him off and told him to get the hell out of my life. But instead, I whispered, “I don’t know.”

His smirk was slow, dangerous. “I’ll take that as a no.”

I hated him. I hated him for knowing me too well, for seeing through every carefully constructed wall I tried to put between us. But most of all, I hated myself for letting him in. Because I knew exactly what would happen next. I would let him destroy me all over again.