CHAPTER TEN : Kiss Me Like You’re Not Hiding Something15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAk8NuYd14N
(Her POV)
He touched her the same way.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJFJlF4kQz6
His hands were still gentle.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7fdhYz8RHh
Still slow.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcUV1zEC94C
Still reverent.
But his kiss?
His kiss… had changed.
She couldn’t explain it—not with words.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyFp7ydyg0W
But she felt it.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxfWzDTG4iv
Somewhere between the breath he took before his lips met hers…15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzpCE4krO5a
and the silence afterward.
There was a kind of goodbye in it.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKg7sVRu4E3
A kind of “I might not get to do this again.”
He pulled away too soon that morning.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzS6nfqnprd
Said something about needing to “review files.”15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDZGzvuZFjJ
Didn’t kiss her forehead like he always did.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAMUvruplRG
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.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡltieGAk0j7
Checking if he’d text.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ORvvwKETM
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.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡygYOPITgOk
No plan.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJKq5xH90vL
Just need.
She knocked.
He opened.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh5iEE5D8YR
Surprised.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRr7SnN356m
Shirt slightly damp.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxY4UMmWLLf
Hair tousled.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3fF6SYySzH
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.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQExG3Imanb
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.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrR3D4OIL95
Hands flexed at his sides.
Then, slowly… painfully… he leaned in.
And kissed her.
It was warm.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9ZvXD2B0tJ
It was slow.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDG8AKcuJER
But it wasn’t honest.
Because she felt the tremble in his hand.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQXj8FRjnc3
Felt how tightly he was holding back.15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMURS9JcqdG
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:
ns216.73.216.239da2“That if you knew everything…15Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Goz2aHLnO
you’d never kiss me again.”
