Page 83 of Healed

“Gabby,” I breathed, losing the fight instantly. My body lost all its tension, my shoulders relaxed, and all I wanted to do was sink closer to her.

The second her body was close to mine, the moment she was near enough that I could smell her coconut shampoo and to feel how warm her skin was, I’d lost.

There wasn’t a single shred of me that was strong enough to resist her.

I brought my head down, resting my forehead against hers, breathing her in.

“I can’t do this, Gabby,” I said quietly, my breath fanning her face.

“I know,” she said. I felt her nod against me.

Her hands stroked up and down my arms, and my breath caught in my throat.

“You need to walk away,” I warned her.

I opened my eyes to see her staring at me.

“You need to stop telling me what to do,” she responded.

My fists clenched as I took a deep intake of breath. “Don’t,” I warned.

“Don’t what?”

She somehow managed to step closer, her body pressed against mine, her back arching slightly so she could still look up at me.

“Don’t push me away, Luke. Not again.”

“Stop it,” I muttered, clenching my teeth.

My breath came heavily through my nose, and the tension immediately came back to my throat.

I clenched my fists at my side, fighting the urge to touch her. She kept her forehead pressed to mine and nudged my cheek with her nose.

“Talk to me,” she whispered.

I closed my eyes against the feel of her breath on my skin, a shiver running down my spine.

“Go to your room,” I said, my fingers clenched so hard they were turning numb.

“No.”

“Gabriella.”

“Luke.”

My breath stuttered and then became laboured, exhaling in sharp puffs. I could feel her breath against me, too. Just as frantic. Just as heavy.

We stayed locked like that for long moments, both staring at each other, both trapped in a lifetime of memories and feelings.

“You need to go,” I whispered, the words barely there, barely forming, barely audible, my voice catching at the end.

“And if I don’t want to?” she whispered back.

I closed my eyes again, a shudder running through me. And then I brought my lips to her ear. “You need to leave,” I whispered. “Because having you this near, this close…” I trailed my hand up her bare arm, loving the immediate response as she shuddered and goosebumps broke out. “Having you this close is killing me.”

I brushed my nose against her neck, inhaling deeper, running along the length of her smooth skin and then whispered, “I need you to walk away, Gabby, now. Whilst I still have some sense in my body.”

She was trembling in my arms, small gasps leaving her lips as my words tickled against her skin.