Page 36 of Strange Seduction (Strange #2)

She stood dripping in the doorway, wrapped in a towel, skin flushed from the heat of the shower, water clinging to her legs.

I gave her my full attention, not bothering to hide the way I looked at her.

Calmly, I answered, “The room’s in my name. They gave me a key.”

She glared at me, unimpressed, but didn’t argue.

“Whatever. It doesn’t matter.” She tried to stride past me and grabbed her clothes from the couch. “Keep the room. Do whatever you want with it. I’m out of here.”

I blocked the way.

“Where are you going, Amore mio ?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

“I found a last-minute one-way ticket to New York,” she said. “I’m leaving.”

“No.”

She rolled her eyes. “Not this again.”

“I don’t want you to go.”

“A little late for reasoning, Theo. My mind’s made up.”

“Can we talk about this? Please.”

“There isn’t anything to talk about.”

“You want to end our relationship over this, so yes, there’s plenty to talk about.”

“Don’t make it sound like I made this decision on a whim,” she snapped, heading into the bathroom. “You did this to us.”

“I know, baby,” I said, following her to the doorway. “So let me fix it.”

“There is no fixing it.”

“How do you know that if you don’t let me try?”

“I know,” she said coldly, dropping her toiletries into her bag, “because I don’t trust you anymore, Theodore.”

The silence that followed settled over the room like a blanket.

I watched her zip the bag shut, my heart threatening to cave in on itself.

“Do you remember back at Eden?” I asked quietly. “When you showed up at my dorm and Allyson was there?”

She froze mid-movement, her back to me. Then she turned, eyes sharp.

“Are you trying to piss me off even more or…?”

“No,” I said, stepping closer. “I was scared as hell you’d never talk to me again. We were already on thin ice, and I thought that moment would be the final straw. But after I explained everything, even though I’m sure you didn’t want to accept my explanation. You decided to trust me.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Is this story supposed to prove how gullible I am?”

“No. It’s supposed to remind you why you trusted me in the first place.” I held her gaze. “I would never do anything to hurt you, Carmen.”

“But you did,” she snapped. “So this is the thanks I get for giving you that trust.”

“No, baby, you don’t get it.” I reached for her hands and held them gently. “I swear on my life, nothing happened with her. I love you too much to ever cheat on you.”

She yanked her hands back.

“No, you don’t get it,” she said, her voice breaking.

“I’m not just mad because I thought you slept with her.

I’m mad because you didn’t tell me. I had to find out from someone else!

And Vince of all people! You know how that makes me look?

You know how embarrassing it is to stand there like an idiot while I’m getting told my man cheated on me with a bitch who works for him, and everyone knows?

Why the fuck would you put me in that position, Theodore? ”

I went quiet, watching her. Her chest rose and fell rapidly. Her mouth parted slightly, fists clenched tight at her sides.

“I’m sorry, baby,” I whispered.

“Yeah,” she said bitterly. “You are.”

She turned away again, resumed packing like she couldn’t stand another second in the same space as me. I stood behind her, unsure for a moment, then took a gamble—I wrapped my arms around her waist. I ran the risk of getting mauled, but still, I needed to check her temperature.

“Get off me,” she muttered.

Rude.

But at least I wasn’t pushed away. That had to mean something.

“I’m so sorry, Sweetness,” I said again, leaning in, my voice brushing the shell of her ear. “Please. Come back to our room. Sleep in our bed. Don’t let it end like this.”

She let out a sigh. Her shoulders dropped just slightly, some of the tension dissolving, but I could still feel her guard being up.

“Are you asking me or telling me?” she murmured.

“Neither.”

I stepped around her and dropped to my knees.

“I’m begging you.”

“Theo—” she said, startled.

“Please,” I said, looking up at her. “Please, Sweetness.”

Her lips parted. Conflict swam in her eyes, and I waited.

Breath held. Heart in my throat.

I would wait as long as it took.

“Carmen,” I whispered, still on my knees, looking up at her like she was the only thing tethering me to this earth. “Please. Let me fix this.”

She shook her head, but she didn’t step away. Her breath hitched, eyes glistening with tears she didn’t want to shed. I shuffled closer on my knees slowly, careful not to spook her.

“I’m not asking you to forget what I did. I just—I want a chance to make it right.”

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out. I wrapped my arms around her waist again, and she didn’t flinch this time. She didn’t move, and her body was stiff as a stone.

“I hate that you found out that way,” I said softly as I looked up at her, “and I hate that I let someone else get in your head before I had the balls to be honest.”

She exhaled shakily, her gaze flicking to the side as if she couldn’t bear to look at me. So I kept talking.

Pleading.

“You mean everything to me, Carmen. There’s no one else—there never was.”

She backed up a step, and I followed. My arms still on her waist, I guided her gently as she moved. The back of her knees bumped the edge of the bed, and she caught herself with a hand behind her, steadying her balance. I took that hand and kissed her knuckles, holding it there against my mouth.

“You’re angry,” I murmured. “You have every right to be. But don’t leave like this. Don’t walk away from everything we’ve built, Amore mio .”

Her eyes finally met mine. “You broke it, Theo.”

“I’ll spend every fucking day putting it back together.”

“I don’t trust you,” she said again, but it was softer now. Not resigned—just wounded.

“Then let me earn it back. Let me remind you why we started this in the first place.” I leaned in, my voice a whisper. “Let me hold you tonight. That’s all I’m asking. Just… stay.”

She didn’t respond, but she wasn’t pushing me away. And I took that as the smallest crack in the door I thought she’d slammed shut forever.

“Please, Carmen. Just stay .”

She let out a broken breath, and I felt her fingers twitch against my lips.

Her breath came shallow now, lips parted like she wanted to say something—maybe to protest, maybe to give in.

I couldn’t tell yet.

I reached up slowly, giving her time to stop me if she needed to. My fingertips brushed her collarbone, then the edge of the towel that clung to her chest, still damp from the shower.

She didn’t move. Just stared at me, eyes wide and guarded, but she didn’t stop me either.

I watched her closely as I slipped my fingers beneath the towel’s knot. I pulled it loose, and the fabric slipped down her skin, pooling around her feet. She stood there, bare, vulnerable, but her chin didn’t drop.

God, she was beautiful.

I didn’t reach for her—not yet. I wanted her to see it in my face. That this wasn’t about sex.

“Sit down,” I whispered, stepping closer.

She stayed rooted to the floor. So I reached again, this time cradling her face in both hands, thumbs brushing her cheeks. She was still wet. Still warm. Still shaking—barely, but I felt it.

“Whatever happens…I don’t want it to be goodbye.”

I wrapped an arm around her waist again and guided her backward, gently, until the backs of her knees met the edge of the bed. She sat, her hands on either side of her, towel forgotten on the floor. I got between her legs, looking up into her face like I was praying.

We kept eye contact as I lowered my head. I pulled her hips closer, my mouth already watering at the sight of her. Both legs went over my shoulders as I feasted.

Still sweet.

We kept our eyes on each other. Neither of us was able to look away as my tongue worked, circling around her pierced clit.

Finally, her head fell back as her eyes rolled shut, and a soft moan vibrated my bones.

The taste of her ran down my throat smoothly.

I felt her toes crawling against my back and heard the scratches of her nails on the sheets.

“I’m not perfect,” I spoke, slightly out of breath as I straightened to look at her face. “But I love you. I love you so much, I can’t breathe when you’re gone. Please don’t leave me.”

She met my gaze. Her eyes finally filled, tears spilling over, and she made no move to wipe them away.

I rested my head against her thigh, wrapping my arms around her waist again as she sat there trembling.

She didn’t hug me back.

But she didn’t pull away.

And that was enough to make me believe we hadn’t lost everything.

At least not today.