Untangle Me

Chapter 38

Andrea

Having her lips on mine and her arms around my neck, feeling her breath fan against my skin and the way she melts into my touch is like returning home after a long journey.

It's that first breath when you break the surface after a long dive or the rush you get on your favorite rollercoaster.

Fuck, but it's my favorite drug and the thing I missed most when Giada didn't remember anything. This feeling was missing but now it's back and I'm already high off it.

With both of my hands on Giada's face to hold her as close as possible as I move us away from our current spot and the broken glass that now litters it. She follows my lead without hesitation.

Only when I pick her up by the back of her thighs does she release a surprised little yelp. I swallow the sound, not letting her pull away now that I have her this close.

Not that she seems to mind. Her legs quickly wrap themselves around my waist, pulling me closer against her all the while she arches towards me.

I push her up against one of the windows, moaning at the way her center is lined up perfectly with my erection. Giada does the same and the sound only edges me on.

I know we shouldn't do this. We've agreed on taking things slow but now that we're here, alone and not an inch separating us, we can't seem to stop.

Running my hands up to Giada's ass, I pull her impossibly closer to me. She gasps against my lips, enabling my tongue to slip into her mouth to which she reacts quickly, deepening the kiss herself so we're moving at a frantic pace.

She grinds against me, whining when my grip doesn't allow much movement but I know if I let her do her thing, let her make this feel any better then I won't be able to hold back. I'll fuck her right here, against this window until we're both spent and too tired to move.

When Giada realizes I don't plan on loosening my grip, she digs her nails into my back in warning. Not much but enough for me to know how much she wants this.

And fuck if that small amount of pain doesn't leave me wanting more. I'm pathetically hard by now, straining against my pants and my tip no doubt leaking precum like a fucking teenager.

"Andrea, please," Giada begs as she tugs on the hem of my shirt, all the while giving me those eyes she knows I can't say no to.

So I help her take my shirt off, pressing her harder against the window so she says in place when I raise my arms. Then the fabric drops to the ground and my hands are back on her.

Only this time, they're on her shoulders, gently tugging at the straps of her dress. She took my jacket off in the car but there's still too much fabric separating us.

I roll the straps over her shoulders, letting my hands run over the skin of her upper back until they reach a spot that feels different. The skin is rougher and stands out against my fingertips.

With a start, I realize it's a scar. One she didn't use to have eight months ago just like it wasn't there when I got her back.

I rip my lips from hers with a hiss, a cold feeling spearing me through the chest and creeping through my veins as I set Giada back on her feet and take a step away, turning my back to her.

My chest is rising and falling with heavy breaths as I fight down a rush of emotion. I clench my fist, painfully aware that Giada is looking at me.

She must be confused about my reaction but I can't get myself to turn around and look at her.

It was easy to pretend that what Luciano did to her wasn't so bad. I never saw her wounds close up and the first time I saw Giada afterward, she seemed mostly okay. So I convinced myself he hadn't done anything bad, that he simply knocked her out, that she was different from his usual victims.

But now that I felt the rough, healing wound on her shoulder I can't help but wonder what else he'd done.

What I didn't prevent and couldn't save her from.

More self-loathing bubbles up inside of me, so intently I get dizzy when a gentle hand takes my own.

I take a shuddering breath, soaking up the warmth of the small contact while the rest of me stays frozen.

"Andrea?" Giada asks softly. She tugs at my hand in an attempt to turn me around but I don't move. "Andrea, look at me."

I sigh, shaking my head. I can't find my voice. I don't know what's wrong with me and why this is hitting me so hard but I'm not strong enough to pull myself together.

Giada seems to understand and I feel her walking around me so we're face to face. My eyes are still shut but she doesn't make a comment about it. Instead, she squeezes my hand reassuringly and keeps talking.

"I'm fine." One of her hands settles on my shoulder when she comes up to press a gentle kiss on my cheek. The other hand is moving from my hand to my wrist. She pulls my hand closer, stepping toward me until we're chest to chest.

Then my hand is back on her shoulder and she gently maneuvers it until it's on her scar again.

"Look at me," the woman begs softly, her breath hitting the skin on my neck right before she places a kiss there. "It wasn't your fault. Please."

And it's the hint of sadness in her voice that makes me open my eyes.

She's staring up at me, the top half of her dress bunched around her waist and her expression so vulnerable as she studies me.

"Please don't push me away. Not because of that," she adds softly, a mix of worry and hurt evident in her green eyes.

Like that, I realize I've been selfish again.

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