CHAPTER TEN : Kiss Me Like You’re Not Hiding Something20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTngsMJFXgl
(Her POV)
He touched her the same way.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLehuK6zG2c
His hands were still gentle.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUbH0AXrd1v
Still slow.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSL4IPfzDto
Still reverent.
But his kiss?
His kiss… had changed.
She couldn’t explain it—not with words.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpqeTFoWSIB
But she felt it.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAS3RG6iWj3
Somewhere between the breath he took before his lips met hers…20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡB35UQQiCev
and the silence afterward.
There was a kind of goodbye in it.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZnlruVCgUf
A kind of “I might not get to do this again.”
He pulled away too soon that morning.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1KHqBroiTk
Said something about needing to “review files.”20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Zh599buED
Didn’t kiss her forehead like he always did.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡImMtfim97L
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.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxzKGueTKRR
Checking if he’d text.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYlx7vEzMow
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.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFpkcPwjwXS
No plan.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9DSn7856rL
Just need.
She knocked.
He opened.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvuQDLAxgr0
Surprised.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBCWZMRwCWI
Shirt slightly damp.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0xlNRiPse6
Hair tousled.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdF70swfLmr
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.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWMVapkz0JR
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.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdiAA7JWH4c
Hands flexed at his sides.
Then, slowly… painfully… he leaned in.
And kissed her.
It was warm.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡko3894qXBj
It was slow.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUwZPJrSZwK
But it wasn’t honest.
Because she felt the tremble in his hand.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCUS9USyac4
Felt how tightly he was holding back.20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv0Uw6SKifL
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:
ns216.73.216.169da2“That if you knew everything…20Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE7lXMGxeO1
you’d never kiss me again.”
