The words hang between us, and Georgia’s eyes widen. I swallow. I didn’t mean to say that; she’s the closest thing Lily has to a mother, after all. But she can’t keep doing this to herself. She’s going to stagnate if she keeps tying herself to us.
“Stop it,” Georgia says suddenly. Her eyes are searching my face, and she’s frowning. “This isn’t you. Why are you pushing me out, Ethan? What are you scared of? Is it still Polly?”
I can’t help but laugh. Polly is gone, for the most part. I won against her, and she can’t threaten me or my family again. I haven’t heard from her since Friday, but I didn’t expect to, anyway. Eventually, she will probably contact me again to arrange for visitation, and I’m fully expecting to see a report, at some point, about Councilor Warrick Sanders
spending the day with his wife and step-daughter, but I’m okay with that as long as Lily is.
“No,” I say. “She isn’t a problem.”
“Then what is it?” Georgia demands. She steps in even closer. My chest clenches. She needs to move back, but I can’t bear to push her away. “What are you scared of?”
I’m scared for her. I’m scared that she’ll look up one day and realize what she’s thrown away just because she wanted to be with a scarred, sad man with a daughter. She will regret choosing us, one day, and I don’t want to see that happen.
Georgia’s eyes widen. She’s reading me just as easily as I’ve always been able to read her.
“You idiot,” she says quietly.
She takes one last step toward me, winds her hand around the back of my neck and yanks me down into a fierce kiss.
I feel her furious passion. The kiss is angry and full of shock, disbelief and lust. It drags me down the moment she pushes her tongue into my mouth, lapping at my gums and battling with my own tongue. It’s impossible not to respond to this kiss, and I find myself deepening it, pushing back and fighting for dominance.
When it breaks, I’m breathing heavily, panting from the overwhelming feelings that had just passed between the two of us. Georgia’s hands are curled in my shirt, gripping the material tightly and pulling me closer. The look in her eyes is equal parts desperate and hungry, and they’re shining.
“There’s no reason for us to break up,” she says, and her body is shaking with suppressed emotion.
Her breath is blowing against my lips and I shiver and the trembles run down my spine. I lean back, needing to put some distance between us before this goes any further, but Georgia leans with me, her eyes searching mine.
She’s begging me. But I can’t step down from this, because Georgia’s life shouldn’t be so tied to mine. I can’t give her what she needs, and, eventually, she’ll realize it too. It’s far better for her to take the life she wants now, before she regrets walking away from it.
I don’t want to be the reason she regrets anything.
“You’re still thinking,” Georgia says. Her pupils are dilated, and her skin is hot. I can see the sweat on her brow and feel her trembling limbs. “But you’re wrong about it all, Ethan. You can’t just push me away and tell me to go live my life. It doesn’t work that way.”
I seize Georgia by the shoulders and look her in the eye. It’s so hard being this close to her, and my body is starting to react in interest, my cock tightening in my pants. She needs to step back before we both lose control.
“You have your life to live,” I insist, finally giving up all pretense. “You can’t keep living mine.”
Georgia stares searchingly at me. The desperation on her face slowly falls, leaving bewildered understanding in its place.
“You’ve really thought this through,” she murmurs. “I can’t believe it. Oh my god… Ethan, you’re a moron.”
I glare at her, and try to pull back. But she hasn’t let go at all.
“Georgia…” I start.
“No,” Georgia interrupts. Fire is burning in her eyes again. She’s still angry, it seems, but it isn’t as all-consuming as it felt before. She’s no longer trembling with the force of her fury and her grip has loosened slightly. “No, no more arguments. That’s it. You’re a goddamned fool. Did it ever occur to you to just ask?”
“Ask what?” I challenge.
Georgia lets go of my shirt, leaving huge wrinkles in it. Before I can step back, her arms wind around my neck, curling gently against my skin, and she steps in close, fitting her body perfectly to mine. Heat forms in the pit of my stomach and I struggle to draw in breath.
“Ask me what I want,” she says softly. “You’re trying to make all these decisions for me, but you haven’t asked me what I want.”
My mouth goes dry. She’s leaning in, and her lips press gently against my jaw, so different to the fierceness that she had bombarded me with before
Her invitation is clear.
“What do you want?” I ask her, my voice trembling slightly.