Page 99 of Until The Lights Go Out

Maisey Andrews had and always would be absolutely everything to me.

The tension between us had been building for over a decade, and kissing her felt like striking a match against gasoline. I trailed kisses down her neck, then her chest and stomach. Maisey looked at me with cheeks flushed and lips deliciously swollen. She looked wrecked, beautifully wrecked.

28

MAISEY | PRESENT

Theo kissed down my stomach slowly, like he was savoring every second of this. Every touch, every breath, every little sound he managed to pull from me was like a reward he worked for.

My pulse was thundering hard enough that I could hear it in my ears as his hands slid carefully along my thighs again, spreading them gently while his eyes stayed locked on mine the entire time.

The intensity of it nearly undid me. Because Theo wasn’t detached from this, wasn’t casual. He looked completely consumed. Then his gaze dropped lower again, and he exhaled like the sight alone hurt him.

“Jesus, Red,” he muttered quietly.

Heat rushed through me instantly.

“Theo…”

“I need you to know something first.” His eyes lifted back to mine immediately, serious. Open in a way that made my chest ache. “This isn’t just sex to me.”

The words landed hard. I wanted it to be true—silently begged for him to mean it—still, a part of my mind nagged at me with doubt. But his touch felt like fire, my skin burning for him with every press of our bodies together, despite the doubt that always crept in telling me I was not worthy of a happy ending or that everything was only in my head. His every touch melted my doubt away. I knew from the way he touched me, the way he looked at me like every version of himself—18 and heartbroken, 28 and exhausted, all sharp edges and buried feelings—was standing here all at once.

“I know,” I whispered softly. “Not to me either, but you might need to remind me sometimes.” Something vulnerable flickered across his face at that.

Then Theo kissed the inside of my thigh gently, a thumb brushing over the scar on my leg as he muttered, “Perfect.” I nearly stopped breathing altogether. He slid down me, touching at the hem of my shorts, with questioning eyes. I gave him an approving nod, and he dragged them down my legs, then his grip tightened on my hips, and he pulled me to the edge of the bed, falling to his knees before me. My heart thumped.

“Easy,” he murmured, sounding unfairly pleased with himself now. “You’re already shaking.”

“You’re very smug for someone currently on his knees.”

A quiet laugh brushed against my skin.

“Trust me,” he muttered, looking back up at me through lowered lashes, “I’ve wanted to be here for years.”

That sentence alone nearly killed me.

Theo’s mouth moved slowly, deliberately, kissing along my thigh with maddening patience while his hands kept stroking softly over my skin like he couldn’t stop touching me now that he finally could.

Every inch of him radiated restraint hanging by a thread. And the worst part? He looked happy about it, like worshipping me was exactly where he wanted to be.

“Theo,” I whispered weakly, fingers tangling into his hair. His eyes closed briefly at the feeling before opening again immediately, gaze dark and locked onto mine.

“There she is,” he murmured softly.

The warmth in his voice shattered me.

Theo leaned closer slowly, giving me every second to stop him if I wanted to. Instead, I tightened my fingers in his hair slightly, silently pulling him nearer. A soft sound escaped him at the encouragement. Then his mouth finally touched me properly, and my entire body arched off the mattress.

“Oh my God⁠—”

Theo’s hands steadied my hips, gently holding me through the reaction while he kissed me again, slower this time, like he was learning exactly what made me come apart. And apparently, he was a very fast learner.

“Theo,” I gasped again, completely wrecked already.

His eyes lifted briefly to mine at the sound, blue gone nearly black now.

“You taste like heaven, Red,” he whispered against me. His tongue pushed on my clit, sending waves of chills across my exposed skin. Theo was a man starved.