Fighting Silence (On the Ropes #1)(36)

“Okay. First off, they already have more than we did by you caring enough to be freaking out about this right now.”

“I’m not freaking out,” he mumbled to himself.

“Yes, you are. And that’s a good thing. We didn’t get that from our parents. I had you and you had me. That’s the way it’s always been. Well, now, Flint and Quarry have you, but guess what, they have me too. I can’t do much to help in the financial department, but I can pitch in with getting them to and from the gym to allow you some more time in the mornings or afternoons. Maybe you could pick up a few extra hours at the shop to help loosen things up.”

He stared at me as I spoke, and I could see the weight lifting from his shoulders with every word. Yeah, I loved Till, and I had grown to love Flint and Quarry too, but my offer to help was completely selfish. He wasn’t alone in this. Because if he were, that would mean that I was alone too. I needed the Page boys far more than they needed me.

Till did things a little differently that night. He started with the best.

“I don’t deserve you.” He rolled over and pulled me into a hug. “You and those boys are all I have,” he whispered into my hair, and I melted against him.

Then he pulled a better.

“You know I love you, right? I don’t say it enough, but I do.”

My response was muffled against his chest. “Yeah, I know.”

“Good. Just checking.” He laughed and tickled my sides.

I squirmed back to my side of the bed.

“So, what do I do if they test positive? What if my worthless parents passed this shit down to all of us?”

“We do what we always do. We go to battle against the world.” He grinned with both sides of his mouth, and it was a truly amazing sight. “You’re a fighter, Till. This is no different.”

He barked out a laugh. “I can’t fight the inevitable.”

“Maybe not. But we can.” I returned his smile, but his fell instantly. He blinked at me in what I could only describe as awe for several beats.

Just as I began to question his reaction, Till made everything harder.

With both hands, he cupped my face and pressed his lips to mine. He took a deep breath as he held my mouth hostage. My eyes were wide with shock, but Till reverently closed his own as he opened his mouth and slid his tongue against mine. I didn’t know why my mouth opened with his or why my tongue stroked against his, and I had no clue why a moan escaped my throat as he rolled on top of me. Why wasn’t even part of my vocabulary at that moment. I knew but one word.

“Till.”





I GASPED AS HE SLID his heated mouth over to my neck. His tongue left a wake of chills as it made its way down to my chest.

“Take this off.” His callused hands glided under my shirt.

Lifting my arms, I gave him permission to pull it off. He watched as I licked my lips. Then his eyes heated before he roughly took my mouth again.

It was then that I tasted it.

Beer.

I slammed my arms back down to the bed. “Till, wait. We can’t do this.” I turned my head to disconnect the kiss, but it only caused him to latch on to my neck again.

“Yes, we can,” he growled, raking his teeth across my skin.

Yes, we could.

“No. We can’t. Remember last time? It almost ruined everything.” I groaned as he ever so slightly rolled his hips against my core. “Seriously, we have to stop. You’re drunk and not thinking straight. You’ll thank me in the morning.” I shifted to the side, trying to squeeze out from under his large body, but he had me pinned.

His hand found my breast, sending a rush of heat between my legs, bypassing my brain completely. “I’m not drunk. Yeah, I was drinking, but I’ve wanted to have you again since the second I pulled out of you the first time. I need you.”

But I needed him too—in a totally different way.

“No. Last time, you disappeared for six months. I can’t go through that again.” I shimmied myself up the bed to escape the mounting pressure his hard-on was coaxing as he continuously slid it against me.

“I won’t leave ever again. I swear. It’s me and you forever, Eliza.”

Eliza.

Forever.

With Till.

His hazel eyes studied me as I weighed my options. I knew that it was going to rock our world, but with his promise of forever still ringing in my ears, I didn’t care if the entire world flipped upside down. I could have sat there all day and tried to rationalize everything out, but the fact was that my body had made its decision the moment he’d said my name.

I licked my lips again then leaned forward and licked his. “Take it off.”

He let out a loud growl then tore the shirt over my head. His mouth covered mine as I began fumbling with the button on his jeans. I barely even had them unzipped before I wedged a hand inside and wrapped it around his cock.

“Fuck,” he gasped, dropping his forehead to my chest and rolling his hips, gliding his shaft through my hand.

Supporting himself on an elbow, he popped a breast from my bra and sucked it into his mouth. My hand froze as I arched off the bed. I remembered the first time Till’s tongue circled my nipple, and this was nothing like that. This was rough and raw. His teeth nipped and his tongue soothed. His hand kneaded the soft flesh as he held my breast to his mouth.