Quickly, I wipe away the evidence from my face.
“You don’t get to be the one that cries,” he tells me. “You don’t get to cry when you’re the one who ruined me.”
“You’re right. I did this to you,” I agree, blinking back more tears. I’m not crying for myself. I don’t even feel bad for myself anymore.
What I’ve gone through—what I’ve done—it’s no excuse for how I’ve chosen to survive. I’ve placed that on others’ shoulders and made strangers responsible for keeping me safe.
I’ve always known this, but this is the first time I’ve had to face the destruction that I’ve caused. It’s like a monster took over, and I’ve been lost to it as it decimated everything around me. And now, the anger has finally receded, and I’m left standing amongst the carnage, having no one to blame but myself.
“I am… so sorry,” I choke out again, praying he can see the sincerity.
Enzo inspects my face closely, picking apart every micro expression and likely searching for deception.
“I know you are,” he murmurs. “But I still don’t want to forgive you.”
I nod, understanding him, but still hating it anyway. Hating what I’ve done, but even more determined to never be that person again.
Which means that I need to tell him the complete truth about Kev.
“I understand,” I acquiesce, then pause, searching for the right words for my confession. I’ve no idea how to say it, but before I can figure it out, he’s shaking his head as if resigning himself to something.
“But I’m going to. I don’t want to be angry with you anymore, Sawyer. I did swear that I wouldn’t be cruel, but I realize now that for me to keep my promise, I’m going to have to fucking forgive you. And I’m going to have to trust you. If I’m going to give you everything you deserve, then I have to give you all of me.”
He tips his chin down, the look on his face severe. “Can I do that, bella? Can I give you all of me?”
“Yes,” I vow, the word practically tripping and tumbling out of my mouth. “I won’t ever hurt you again. I swear, Enzo.”
He’s nodding, almost as if he’s trying to come to terms with that. Then, he’s dropping his head with a sigh for a second before lifting it back to me, something different radiating from the depths of his eyes.
“You’re a goddamn siren, and I’m the fool who would gladly drown just to get a taste of you. Starve, for all I care, bella, but I will be eating tonight, and the only thing I’m hungry for is you.”
Surprise muddles my thoughts. I blink at him, ready to ask him to repeat himself just to make sure I heard him right, but when I open my mouth, he’s crashing his lips into mine.
He swallows the rest of my words with his tongue and teeth, rendering me silent as he devours my lips. Whether it’s from shock or instinct, I open my mouth and allow him in, one hand finding purchase on the table while the other grasps the back of his neck.
My entire body lights up like a city coming out of a blackout, my nerves gridlocked with electrical currents as he claims my lips.
And with each swipe of his tongue, he erases all those ugly feelings built up inside me. He consumes me with such intensity, I don’t know how I ever believed he stopped wanting me.
“Fuck,” he mutters into my mouth before capturing my lips again. His hands grip either side of my face, sliding back into my hair and inhaling me deeper.
It feels like my heart is beating right out of my chest, aching to be free so it can run away with its lover.
I’m out of oxygen and forced to pull away, but he doesn’t let me go.
“Non ancora,” he rasps. “I need more of you.”
Then, he’s pulling me back in once more, and I forget why I ever wanted to breathe at all. His tongue sensually slides against mine, coercing it into a dance as if they’re swaying to a ballad of star-crossed lovers.
Electricity rolls down my spine, and with each kiss, I feel on the verge of combusting. We’re the perfect storm, where he is the thunder, and I am the lightning.
He grabs my hips and roughly jerks me against him, his hard cock seated between my thighs. He swallows a moan, pleasure radiating from where he presses himself into me. Curling my legs around his waist, I roll my hips against his length, seeking more.
If I’m the siren, then he must be Poseidon, an angry god who commands my body like it’s the ocean beneath his fingertips.
He thrusts against me so harshly, the table screeches, the legs grinding against the wooden floor. In a matter of seconds, we’ve become unhinged with need.