Page 55 of Off-Limits

My breath hitches, and before I know what’s happening, his tongue is down my throat, and I’m opening up for him, taking what he’s giving me.

I want to be selfish.

I grip onto his shirt like a lifeline, feeling his muscles tense beneath my fingers. He pulls away, resting his forehead on mine, and I feel his hot, fast breath across my face.

“Want to get out of here?”

I try to say no, knowing that’s what I should do, what Arrie would want me to do, but Damon is right. We deserve to be selfish. So, I give him the answer he wants. The answer I want to give him.

“Yes.”

“Thank fuck.” Damon grabs my hand and hauls me up and we rush out of the bar like two horny teenagers. “I have a room at the Sebel. It’s just around the corner.”

Is this wrong? Fuck yes.

Would Arrie hate me if she knew? More than likely.

Do I care? Fuck yes.

Am I still going to do this? More than likely.

Anxiety and fear begin to capitalise, but I force myself to breathe through it, yet when Damon speaks, it’s mollified.

“Get out of your head, Sweet Dottie, it’s no good to either of us now.”

Gnawing on my lip, I push the guilt out of my mind and focus on our surroundings. We are standing out front of the Sebel. It’s beautiful, but I don’t have time to admire it. Damon is pulling me in the direction of his room.

Once the door slams behind, Damon pushes me into it, his hands fisting my curls.

Tongues lashing, lips smacking, we duel for dominance, each of us seemingly relieved we are both giving in.

Damon pulls away to rest his forehead on mine, I wonder if this will be over before it even begins.

It would be for the best, but there is a huge part of me, the selfish part that wants this. Wants him. I’ve given and given my entire life, always putting everyone’s needs before my own, but this time I want to put me first.

Even if I’m about to hurt the only person I care about in the entire fucking world. Our breaths mingle in the closed space, and I wait to see what he does next. I want him to choose me, but I won’t beg either.

“If we do this, everything changes. You understand that, right?”

I nod.

“I need your words, baby.”

The strain in his voice gives him away, and I know he’s wrestling his own demons. I stay quiet and think. If I allow this to happen, then things will change, and how that looks frightens me.

We’re not meant to be together, so what we do will be nothing but a filthy secret we can both remember in the dark when no one is around. I’m not tricking myself into believing this is anything more than a one-night stand.

Arrie.

She’s going to hate me.

But I can’t think straight with him so close. His scent is consuming me, and I can taste him on my tongue. As if reading my thoughts, Damon takes a step back and I draw in a rattled breath.

I’m hesitant, worried, downright petrified.

“Dorothy, I need you to use your words. Please.”

Swallowing I look at the man before me. This man, who saved me so many times, a man who has watched me grow up, a man I’ve fantasised about half my damn life.