CHAPTER TEN : Kiss Me Like You’re Not Hiding Something24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0e1JKCjtBu
(Her POV)
He touched her the same way.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk9gQJYkbmy
His hands were still gentle.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXajzpvE8Rw
Still slow.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ86Kq1dkC01
Still reverent.
But his kiss?
His kiss… had changed.
She couldn’t explain it—not with words.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOiii0R3eqI
But she felt it.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcRL1pNy8CQ
Somewhere between the breath he took before his lips met hers…24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhChgGqtmRb
and the silence afterward.
There was a kind of goodbye in it.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMwGr6fKVM3
A kind of “I might not get to do this again.”
He pulled away too soon that morning.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrB9vB1PXRu
Said something about needing to “review files.”24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgx4iMWRXV5
Didn’t kiss her forehead like he always did.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfR2PzxZ4Q3
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtvVFoN6K4h
Checking if he’d text.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdTNnfYWFRt
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoTRGrR9H8n
No plan.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz6ZUdYwaSK
Just need.
She knocked.
He opened.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMLjMVZNDVf
Surprised.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxT24dL34o4
Shirt slightly damp.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdsUwYmspTo
Hair tousled.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxbQbNZvzeO
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdHBX8HZTyi
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.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8SwiHCxQsL
Hands flexed at his sides.
Then, slowly… painfully… he leaned in.
And kissed her.
It was warm.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLOVZO8GPE4
It was slow.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQfcghlECdv
But it wasn’t honest.
Because she felt the tremble in his hand.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡttpIpEhjKw
Felt how tightly he was holding back.24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtAapSae86y
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:
ns216.73.217.11da2“That if you knew everything…24Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYPpkWhhzEE
you’d never kiss me again.”
