Page 92 of Heat Lightning

“DON’T!” he shouted, cutting me off before I said the thing that irrevocably changed us. I held my breath in the quiet that stretched. Then, quieter, he continued, “Don’t promise me that. I wouldn’t survive it if you took it back. You don’t even know who I am.”

“Then show me!” I yelled back. “Take that stupid mask off and let me in! Let me know you. I want you. I choose you.”

He looked at me with the eyes of a broken man and merely shook his head.

Our food sat cold and forgotten, the kitchen in a state of abandoned disarray.

Just like us.

I couldn’t look at him anymore. Throwing my napkin onto the counter, I stormed into the bedroom, hand over my mouth to stifle my sobs.

How had this spiraled so horribly? I knew he cared for me. I knew it in my bones. Maybe he didn’t feel for me as strongly as I felt for him yet, but that could change. We could grow, with time.

The rest didn’t matter. Whatever he told me, we’d work through it, because we were… we were…

We were mates.

It was real. We’d found each other despite every horrible thing life threw at us, and he wanted to hide from it? Why?

My belly cramped, and I shivered, cold without his touch. The symptoms that first brought me fear and trepidation morphed into joy beneath his hands, sculpted into pleasure and safety.

And now, emptiness. My last wave was here.

I sat on the bed, sobbing so hard my body shuddered.

“Sweetheart…” Atlas stood in the doorway, gripping the wooden frame. His voice was thick with tears. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. This is all my fault. If I hadn’t—I should’ve⁠—”

Another wave of need rolled through me. “I don’t care what you should’ve done,” I croaked, holding my hand out for him. “Or what you regret. Everything hurts without you. It always hurts without you, Atlas.”

He saved me the embarrassment of begging and came to me immediately.

Night had descended while we fell apart. My bedroom was dark, with only the faint light of the moon filtering in over the lake.

“I’ll make it better,” he whispered, kissing the tears from my cheeks. “I’ve got you. I’ve always got you. Even when you don’t see me.”

Lying me back against the bed, he worshipped my body from head to toe. His lips glided over my skin, sucking at my sensitive nipples until they peaked, before trailing down to my belly.

“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured. “So perfect.”

The darkness made me bold. Without seeing him, I could pretend he wasn’t wearing a mask at all, and this wasn’t an ending, but a beginning.

Fresh tears tracked down my cheeks. “Make love to me? Please? Even if you don’t mean it, I want to know what it feels like to be with you when you love me. Just once.”

His hot breath fanned against my stomach with a broken moan. “Roll over.”

Oh, God, I’d gone too far. He didn’t even want to face me after that⁠—

“Max.” He kissed my belly, hand stroking my cock. “My love. Roll over.”

I wasn’t prepared for how true the lie would sound on his lips. I obeyed, unable to do anything but.

Propped up on my elbows, I hugged the pillow he slept on and shivered as his kisses trailed up my body. His hard cock tagged my thighs and ass when he settled over me.

“I love you,” he whispered when he pushed inside me.

I gasped. After days and days of heat, he tunneled right into the heart of me, slick and hot.

“I love you,” he said again, arms wrapped around my shoulders and chest to hold me still. “I love you so much it drives me mad.”