Closing my eyes didn't work, because the minute I laid back against the pillows, she climbed back onto me, grabbed my hands, and basically forced me to touch her.

The thread had snapped.

The control was officially gone.

I waved goodbye as it floated away from my consciousness. I embraced Dani, swearing to never let her go.

"We do this, you leave me, I will chase you," I growled against her mouth. "And I mean that in the most threatening way possible. I'm not letting you go."

"Good." Her eyes watered with tears.

"Doing this with you can't be about scratching an itch. I was that guy once, but with you? I want to savor." I brushed a kiss across her mouth. "Do you understand that?"

"Just… don't hurt me," she whispered, all traces of seduction gone.

I tried not to read into it too much but was too damn curious for my own good. "Has someone hurt you before?"

"Elliot." She pushed me back down, laying her body across mine as I cupped her at the waist and pulled her close across my skin. "After my parents died, I thought it would make me feel better."

"Killing him," I said in a serious tone, "would probably help me sleep better at night. The bastard probably didn't even know what to do with you, did he?"

She scrunched up her face. "It hurt and was over in like three minutes."

"What an idiot." I swore violently. "Tell me he at least held you afterward or told you it was going to be okay."

"He put on his clothes and left."

My fingers dug into her arms. "No offense, but you slept with a boy."

"I know," she said, her voice sounding confused.

I kissed her mouth hard then pulled back. "I'm a man."

She nodded and then very shyly murmured, "Care to prove it?"

"Thought you'd never ask." I captured her mouth again and again, each kiss going deeper and deeper as our bodies slid against one another. Minutes went by, maybe an hour while we kissed; while I made sure she understood the very meaning of the word savor.

Lips bruised, she came up for air then tugged me by the hair back down. With a low growl, I did the best I could at keeping things slow; at making sure she felt every caress of my mouth. Every time my body came into contact with hers, I paid special attention to the moment, adding as much pleasure as I could with my tongue and hands.

"Nightstand," she whispered against my mouth. Our bodies were sticky with sweat as the air in the room turned erotic with our tangled breaths.

"Huh?"

She blushed and averted her eyes, mumbling, "Protection."

"I'm torn between yelling at you for having condoms and embracing you for being smart. But calling it smart means it's okay for you to engage in sexual activities, and at this point, I'm pissed you even know the definition of the word."

"What?" She shook her head in confusion. "Why are you suddenly turning into Jaymeson?" Oh good, mentioning her brother in bed was already bad enough.

"Protective," I growled nipping at her lips. "And you're mine, so… any other guy touching you really pisses me off. Hell, he just went through puberty!"

"Killing the moment."

"Good, because I'm going to kill him," I snarled, slamming my fist into the pillow then kissing her hard on the lips. "You know, we don't have to do this."

"Yeah, we do."

"No…" I pulled back. "… we really don't."

"For once—" She locked eyes with me. "—I want to do something on my terms. Not because my therapist tells me to, not because people are worried about me or feel sorry for me. I want this. I want you. Don't tell me I can't have you. Don't tell me I can't have the one I love."

Stunned, I could only stare at her and pray I'd really heard what I thought I'd heard.

"Did you say love?" I barely managed in a choked whisper.

Dani nodded slowly, her eyes never leaving mine. "That sounded selfish."

"Kind of," I agreed softly. "But since I'm part of the selfishness, I'm really in no position to complain."

"Make love to me."

I stared. Hard. And in one kiss, sealed both our fates. "Okay."

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

Dani

HE WAS NOTHING LIKE ELLIOT. ELLIOT had been… a boy. Lincoln was all muscle, a man who had filled out in places I didn't even know guys filled out. I was desperate for him, not because I wanted to make things go away, but because I felt alive with him. I felt like me.

The me I used to know.

The one that smiled, the one that laughed, the one that talked. He had seen the mute, but he'd also seen the girl before the muteness, the one I'd missed so much it brought tears to my eyes.

But most of all, he embraced them both.

Something that nobody had done until now.

It was freeing, giving myself to someone so completely.

"Dani," Linc whispered, his mouth meeting mine in another searing kiss that had my body trembling. Sensations rocked through me as he flipped me onto my back, bracing himself over me, the muscles in his neck twitching as his arms flexed, his body weight being held up so he wouldn't crush me.

Lincoln Greene. Was. Gorgeous. Stormy grey eyes locked with mine. His lips twitched into a seductive smile.

And then I felt him.

All of him.

And suddenly decided it wouldn't work. I was insane, right? This would not work. At all. Nope. Not happening.