Anna

After Willow fell asleep, I snuck out of bed, but instead of going to Sean’s room as I had every other night, I headed downstairs to the home theater next to his studio. I wanted to transfer some pictures I’d taken this afternoon onto his hard drive. 

My heart pinched at the thought of Sean leaving. But he wasn’t mine to keep, and I knew that going in. 

After plugging my phone into the little black box attached to his projection screen, I took a seat on one of the couches.

Picking up the remote, I tried to remember the steps to download. A menu came up labeled personal photos, and when I pressed the button, the screen populated with dozens of pictures. All of Sean in places I didn’t recognize with different women on his arm. In his lap. At his side.

Tears lined my eyes, but I just sat there, unmoving, barely breathing, with the pieces of Sean’s life laid out before me. 

Footfalls on the stairs jolted me from my trance, and I fumbled with the buttons until the screen went dark. 

The door creaked open, spilling light into the room. Not a lot. But enough to see the look of concern on Sean’s face. 

He glimpsed the blank screen as he walked toward me. “What are you doing?”

I held up my phone as if that explained everything, and then finding my voice, I choked out, “Pictures. Of Willow.”

Sean looked down at the remote clutched in my other hand. I wanted to throw it at him, but before I could, he took it from me. “Let’s see what you got.” 

He dropped onto the sofa, and when the screen illuminated, the photos splashed across his face. All of his conquests superimposed on his skin. 

He blinked slowly and then pressed delete, jabbing the button until they were gone, and it was just us, sitting in the dark. 

“You didn’t have to do that,” I said thickly.

“They didn’t mean anything.”

“I get it.” 

I hauled to my feet, trying to break his hold when his hands curled around my waist. 

“What do you get?” Sean gripped me tighter and then pulled me closer, pressing a kiss to my chest, right above my heart. “Tell me.” 

Tell me. Show me. Look at me.

All his whispered demands, and always it came back to this. To the beginning of our end. 

Anger flowed through me, unjustified given the circumstances. But that’s the thing about anger, it doesn’t need a reason.

Sean’s fingers inched north, and I cursed my traitorous body, my tight nipples, and wet panties.

He looked up at me, thumbs sweeping the underside of my breasts. “Let’s go upstairs.” 

The thought of Sean’s bed turned my stomach, so I shook my head. If he wanted to fuck, we’d do it here, with the ghosts of all the other women a few feet away.

I eased the thin straps over my shoulders, and let my nightgown slip to my waist. 

Sean’s gaze flicked to my taut nipples, the stiff peaks a testament to my weakness. 

“Upstairs,” he repeated, more forcefully this time. 

A taunting smile formed on my lips. “You want to fuck me, Sean? Then fuck me right here.” 

He caught my wrist when I reached for the drawstring on his board shorts. Pulling me on top of him with our joined hands trapped between us, he searched my face. “You want to tell me what we’re playing at here?”

I smiled, because he hit the nail on the head. This was a game. And in two days it would end.

My gaze shot to the blank screen for a half a beat. “Sex is a sport, right?” I palmed him through the thin fabric of his shorts, and his cock pulsed in my hand. “So why it does it matter where we play?”

Annoyance shadowed his features. But then he flipped me onto my back on the smooth leather couch. As he looked down at me, impatient hands yanking at my gown, I swear I saw something in his eyes. But then he nudged my legs open with his knee.

“You’re right, baby. It doesn’t matter where.” My breath stalled as he pushed my panties aside, and sliding a finger between my folds, he smiled. “You’re so fucking wet.”

It sounded more like an accusation than a compliment. So I pressed my lips together to show him how unaffected I was. When he slipped a second finger inside my slick channel, my hips bucked of their own accord.

Stupid body.

Pissed now, mostly at myself, I made another attempt to claw at Sean’s shorts, but he stopped me. “I don’t think so.” 

I glared at him as his thumb grazed my clit. But when he started circling the tiny nub, I couldn’t hold back, and a slew of curses tumbled from my lips. 

Another smile from Sean, soft, despite his relentless assault. “You like that?” 

I said nothing, surrendering to the rhythm of his thrusts, and right when I was about to fly, he stopped.

His shorts slid to the ground, and then fisting his cock, he stroked himself in earnest. “Is this what you want?”

Sean kept asking questions, upping the stakes, like maybe I’d give in.

He could have my body, hell, he owned my body, but he couldn’t have my words. Not tonight.

I spread my legs wider in silent invitation. 

Sean’s eyes stayed glued to my face as he ripped the foil package, and once he was fully sheathed, he gripped my thighs and pulled me forward. His hands slid to my ass, tilting me at just the right angle so that his blunt head was positioned at my entrance.

“You want me?” he asked softly. Too softly. Gripping my chin when I turned my head, Sean forced me to meet his gaze. “Do you?”

He didn’t wait for an answer, pushing in to the hilt with one thrust. I gasped, and Sean took full advantage, his mouth sealing over mine. Something about the tenderness stabbed at my heart, so I sank my teeth into his bottom lip.

Sean didn’t stop, or even pause, despite the coppery taste on our tongues. 

When he finally broke the connection, panting, I turned my head. 

“Open your eyes,” he demanded.

Defiant, I shook my head.

He stopped moving. “Open your eyes, please.”

Reluctantly, I complied. And I wished I hadn’t. Because when I looked at him, it was much harder to deny my feelings.

Sean eased out slowly and then slammed home with punishing force. 

“Do you feel that?” He grunted. I bit the inside of my lip to keep from whimpering when he repeated the motion. “Do. You. Feel. It?”

Turning my face away, I bit out, “Yes. I feel it.” 

Sean pressed a kiss to my neck, my tense jaw, and finally my lips, and fuck, I couldn’t stop myself from seeking his tongue.

Slowing his pace, he touched his forehead to mine. “This isn’t me fucking you, Anna-baby. This is me loving you.”