CHAPTER TEN : Kiss Me Like You’re Not Hiding Something35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8pNIPzJPx8
(Her POV)
He touched her the same way.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ZXZi6DmZm
His hands were still gentle.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHFWc7RwMnp
Still slow.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtS2GagoNMn
Still reverent.
But his kiss?
His kiss… had changed.
She couldn’t explain it—not with words.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7gwqsm6Uto
But she felt it.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZAFueqnn6A
Somewhere between the breath he took before his lips met hers…35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDwQZzxnGTP
and the silence afterward.
There was a kind of goodbye in it.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjD5kCfzTGd
A kind of “I might not get to do this again.”
He pulled away too soon that morning.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWfxhEw8IkI
Said something about needing to “review files.”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv55pheUPIF
Didn’t kiss her forehead like he always did.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN09tcWA7oI
Didn’t ask her what she wanted for dinner.
And yet, he looked at her like she was his air.
It was confusing as hell.
She spent the rest of the day pacing in her apartment.
Staring at her phone.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡejqVdbZTkC
Checking if he’d text.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv35CLQYP8h
Telling herself not to overthink.
But every woman who’s ever been loved and then unloved knows this feeling.
That gut-level ache.
By nightfall, she was in front of his clinic.
No appointment.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZZSIRKxxKY
No plan.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzSFLlmBCPM
Just need.
She knocked.
He opened.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCgz0RRTmDv
Surprised.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiwcQm9Q9tz
Shirt slightly damp.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeiE4x8HRTR
Hair tousled.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoO1M9Sz8CN
Eyes tired.
But his lips curved. “You’re here.”
“I couldn’t stay away,” she said softly.
“Neither could I,” he whispered.
He let her in.
She stepped close.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCJHiH2FpTH
Tugged gently at his shirt.
“I want you to kiss me,” she said. “But this time…”
He looked down at her, brows furrowing.
“…kiss me like you’re not hiding something.”
Silence.
His jaw tensed.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6CP8RQ9iuR
Hands flexed at his sides.
Then, slowly… painfully… he leaned in.
And kissed her.
It was warm.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbsVVMTPwl8
It was slow.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTWYQ5FnmGm
But it wasn’t honest.
Because she felt the tremble in his hand.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv28i5sPBlg
Felt how tightly he was holding back.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiN0EHkwdBC
Felt how scared he was to give in.
When he pulled away, her eyes were wet.
“You’re scared,” she whispered.
He didn’t deny it.
“What are you afraid of, Matteo?”
His answer came barely above a whisper:
ns216.73.216.238da2“That if you knew everything…35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0tqHiHupEn
you’d never kiss me again.”
