9
I was immediately consumed by the need to confess. To fall to my knees and spill every terrible, selfish urge and thought, to purge it all in front of her and for her, because I could see this wound in her eyes, a wound that I’d just worsened, and I had to fix it. I had to atone.
“Poppy—”
She shook her head. “Give me a moment, Tyler.”
I fell silent.
She took a deep breath. She was still completely n***d, but it no longer mattered, because a distance was slowly settling in her eyes, along with a cold, elegant posture and a composed press of her lips—she wore an invisible armor that did far more to separate us than clothes ever could.
I tried again, desperate to keep this chasm from opening wider. “I’m so sorry, lamb. I thought you wanted it—”
“Give me a f*****g minute!” Her voice s
