Hungry for you

Chapter Eight – Lost control

The kiss should have been enough.

It should have been the line in the sand, the point where I pulled back and said no, the moment I reminded myself who I belong to.

But I didn’t stop.

I couldn’t.

Ian’s mouth on mine felt like something I’d been starved for. Every brush of his lips, every flicker of his tongue, every shiver that rolled through me—it all felt too real, too alive. His hand slid down my side, warm and firm, and I melted into him before I could even think.

“Reese…” His voice was a growl against my skin, like he was fighting to keep control.

“I shouldn’t,” I whispered, though my body pressed closer.

“Then tell me to stop.” His lips grazed the corner of my jaw, soft but hungry. “Just say it once, and I’ll walk out that door.”

I didn’t say it.

Instead, my hands clutched his shirt tighter, pulling him closer, begging for more without a single word.

He kissed me harder, slower, deeper—like he’d been waiting too long, holding back too much. His mouth trailed down my neck, each touch making me tremble, making me forget the world outside this moment. When his teeth grazed my collarbone, I gasped, the sound breaking something inside both of us.

“God, you don’t even know what you do to me,” he muttered, his hand slipping under the hem of my sweater. His touch burned, rough and gentle all at once. My skin prickled under his fingertips, my body arching to meet him like I’d been waiting for this all along.

“Ian…” My voice cracked, caught between warning and want.

“Say my name again,” he murmured against my throat.

And I did.

The apartment was too small for the way he kissed me, too fragile for the way his body pressed me against the wall. The world narrowed to his hands, his mouth, the heat that pulsed between us. Every inch of me wanted him closer, deeper, wanted more than I should ever allow.

And yet, somewhere in the haze, Eli’s name pulsed on the back of my mind like a bruise I couldn’t ignore. The phone on the table lit up again, vibrating in the silence, Eli’s name glowing bright.

I froze.

Ian felt it instantly. He pulled back just enough to see my face, his breath ragged, his eyes storm-dark. “It’s him, isn’t it?”

My silence was answer enough.

His jaw tightened. “He disappears for weeks, treats you like a damn afterthought, and the second he calls, you hesitate with me?”

Tears stung my eyes, shame cutting through the desire. “It’s not that simple.”

“Yes, it is,” Ian said, voice low, fierce. He leaned in close, his forehead against mine, his grip trembling on my waist. “It’s always been simple. You either keep waiting for him… or you let yourself want me.”

The phone buzzed again. The sound split me open.

I turned my face away. “I can’t…”

Ian’s breath shook against my cheek. He stepped back, slowly, like each inch hurt. His hands slipped away, leaving me cold, empty.

“Then you’ve already made your choice,” he said. His voice cracked, but his eyes stayed steady, locked on mine like he wanted me to feel the weight of it.

And then he walked out.

The silence after was brutal. My body still burned where he touched me, but my chest ached with something I couldn’t name. My phone kept buzzing. Eli’s name glowed like a lifeline.

But for the first time, I didn’t know if I wanted to answer.