The Neighbor: A dark, forbidden romance. by Sophia Karlson

Author:Sophia Karlson [Karlson, Sophia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-04-25T16:00:00+00:00

26

MARLÈNE

Ruben was here, where she needed him the most.

She’d been drifting in and out of sleep, still trying to understand what had happened earlier. But now he was here, his hand warm on her hip, his fingers stilling as he brushed her naked skin.

He wasn’t supposed to be here, and after the conflicting signals he’d been shooting her way, she hadn’t been sure she’d even want him here. But now, with his body next to hers, she understood how much she needed him to be close to her. She didn’t stir, scared that he’d want to leave if he knew she was awake.

She still didn’t understand what went on in his head, but it was no surprise to her when he turned away to his other side.

Back to back, it was almost like a wall stood between them. She couldn’t stand it. “Ruben?”

He groaned a sigh. “Did I wake you?”

“No. Why are you here?”

He didn’t respond immediately, and she rolled onto her back, brushing her arm against him.

Ruben didn’t speak, but his chest rose and fell with strained breathing. “Because I need you to hold me.”

In the dark, she stared at the back of his head. “Okay,” she whispered. “What’s going on?” She’d been so stuck in her own misery that she’d been blind to his struggles. He was going through something hard and didn’t share any details with anybody. For all she knew, he didn’t understand what he was going through himself. She turned towards him and pressed into his back. “Do you want to talk about it?’

He kept his back to her, but tenderly gripped her hip and pulled her closer. She slipped her hand over his side and to his chest and for a moment they just held on to each other.

“Later. Please.” He hesitated. “Maybe. I have to sort out my head first.”

That hurt. When he asked about what had triggered her at the boxing ring, she’d also stood at a fork in the road. Trust him with her past, or not. Now, instead of opening up to her like she had to him, he closed up.

Later. Or never.

But this was the agreement they had, and the least she could do was honor it. She traced a line along his spine with her nose and pressed a soft kiss to a shoulder blade. “Okay. Later.”

“Thank you.” He took his hand from her hip and clasped her fingers in his, holding her hand close to his heart.

His grip eventually relaxed, and his breathing took on the rhythm of sleep, but still she stared into the dark.

Her withdrawal insomnia had improved but with him here, like this, she couldn’t sleep for worrying about him. It was coming, for sure, that moment when his body would jerk, caught in a nightmare. This time, she wanted to fold him into her embrace and chase those visions away, whatever they were.

When he stirred against her, she woke in a daze. She’d fallen asleep and during the night, they’d turned. She was in his arms now, his erection pressing into her bum.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.