Before she can press harder, I step into her space and grab her. One hand at her waist, the other cupping the back of her neck. I pull her in and kiss her deep. Forceful. Desperate. Pouring every unspoken apology, every buried want into the pressure of my mouth on hers. Hoping the heat, the familiarity, will make her forget the questions burning in her eyes.
For a heartbeat, it works.
She melts into me. Her body softens against mine, lips parting under the kiss, that electric pull between us sparking back to life like it never left. Her hands fist in my shirt, pulling me closer, and for one blissful second, everything feels right again.
Then her brain catches up.
She tenses. Rigid, furious. Olivia shoves hard at my chest with both hands, breaking the kiss with a sharp gasp.
I open my eyes.
She's already scowling. Betrayal flashes hot in her dark eyes like a live wire. Her cheeks flush deep crimson now from pure rage instead of the heat we'd just shared.
Her hand flies up before I can even think to block it or turn away. The slap lands hard and sharp across my cheek, a vicious crack that echoes loud in the tight space between us. It rings in my ears like a gunshot. Pain blooms immediate and brutal, fire licking across my skin, spreading hot down my jaw and into my neck. My face tightens. My cheek throbs with every frantic heartbeat, leaving my whole head pulsing.
She spits at my feet in raw disgust. The glob lands wet and glistening on the floor between us, an accusation that turns my stomach.
Olivia doesn't waste a single word on me. She spins on her heel. Long hair whips like a lash across her back. She strides for the front door with that furious grace I both hate and crave.
"Olivia, wait."
My plea chokes out too late. Her hand slams the knob down. The door flies open on protesting hinges, then bangs shut behind her. The sound rattles the walls, sealing the void.
Silence crashes in like a tidal wave, heavy and suffocating.
I stand frozen in place. My cheek throbs hot. The ghost of her lips burns phantom-soft against mine even as her anger sears deeper. Copper floods my mouth where I bit my lip too hard during the kiss, metallic and sharp. The room tilts slow around me. My phone buzzes insistent on the counter, probably Diego with cartel bullshit, or Dad barking orders, or worse.
I don't move. I can't.
Instead, I sink onto the couch. My head drops heavy into my hands. Elbows dig into my knees.
I fucked it up. Worse than before. I took the one thing that ever truly worked between us, that electric pull, that kiss like oxygen, and weaponized it.
Her taste lingers on my tongue, sweet and bitter as regret. Her anger echoes louder than the slammed door.
One step forward. Ten thousand back.
CHAPTER 25
RAUL
…22 years old
How could I have let her leave like that?
I've tried calling her. Texting her. Over and over again. The second she walked out, regret hit me like a freight train, sudden and brutal and impossible to ignore. It's been days.
I need to talk to her. Now.
I grab my keys, jump into my Cadillac, and race to her house. Three knocks later, her father opens the door.
"Is Olivia here?" I ask, trying to keep my voice level. Desperate. Controlled. He sees right through it anyway.
"No, son. She should be on her way to work."
"Thank you, sir." Polite. Polished. Steady.
The exact opposite of what's happening inside me.