Mariam, > Books: forced-proximity‎ (87)

You happen to be something I didn’t expect to want

God.
This guy.

Of course, it had to be Emery, my infuriating stepbrother, who’s ignited this inside

Of course, it had to be Emery, my infuriating stepbrother, who’s ignited this inside me. He’s an impossibility. He’s the one thing I can’t let myself have.

A grunt escapes him, and then those hands of his are rubbing up and down my back in an attempt to warm me.
But he doesn’t know.
He doesn’t know that just being here with me, despite it all, is enough. No one’s ever held me like this. No one’s ever cared for me like this.

He looks so peaceful. Like a fucking angel. If only some of that light and goodness could extend into me, then maybe I’d make it through this life a little healthier, a little happier.

he chuckles, and I peek up at him and see those green eyes looking back at me. I mean, I can’t really see them well, but I know the exact color because I’ve studied them for so long.
I have a tattoo on my arm that’s just the right shade. Took me forever to find it.
His essence is engraved on my skin––a reminder that he’s way too good for me, but maybe, if I’m lucky, some of his goodness will rub off on me.

I can’t remember a time when anyone else put me first. But August always does, even when he doesn’t want to, even when he shouldn’t. He’s always put me first.

“You don’t need to make light of it.”
“Hell yeah, I do. It’s either that or sob uncontrollably. Sometimes it’s better to laugh.”
August mulls over that for a moment and then says softly, “It’s okay if that’s who you are.”
I exhale, “What?”
“All of that is okay. You don’t need to change who you are.”
“Well, my therapist would disagree. He’s always harping on coping mechanisms and personal growth….”
“I know, and that’s good, but I mean…” he swallows. “I accept you for who you are at this moment. You don’t need to feel bad or embarrassed about any of it.”

He presses a small kiss to the tip of my nose.
And oh my god, my heart grows ten sizes bigger. It won’t fit in my chest anymore. It will have to live outside my body. Maybe August can tuck it away and keep it safe.

I’m a fucking work in progress, thank you.

“Better?” he asks.
“Yeah.” But he doesn’t understand. He has no clue what I mean. I’m better simply because he’s near me. He’s the warmth that I’ve been craving my entire life. I didn’t realize I’d been missing it until I’d had it.

I’ve never really had roots, but with August I feel like maybe I could put some down. It feels so right being with him. His arms feel more like home than any place I’ve ever been.

“Perhaps your body could not come again for you, but I suspect t

“Perhaps your body could not come again for you, but I suspect that it will for me.” Ondry ran a thumb over the front of Liam’s throat and then nipped at the place where neck and shoulder met. “I enjoy the thought that your body knows that it is mine.”

Vasili didn’t announce. He lurked like the snake he was.

He couldn’t imagine Vasili’s sharp exterior ever thawing enough to let anyone close. Niko had found rocks with more empathy.

“Don’t worry,” Vasili purred. “There will be many more chances for you to defy me.”
“Am I here just for you to torment?”
He chuckled and rested an elbow on the arm of his chair, propping his chin on his knuckles. “What a delight that would be.

He saw Vasili standing by the door, the prince’s unblinking glare oddly comfortingly.

Niko was dark to Vasili’s light, but neither of them could be called good.

His gaze finally settled on Niko. “I am still your prince.”

Adamo shifted, and the sun caught Vasili’s sharp mouth, revealing a small, crooked smile. The smile he’d shown only to Niko.

“Sweet fucking gods.” Niko ran a trembling hand through his wet hair. Why was it every time he spoke with Vasili he was left feeling like the bastard had rooted around in his soul and torn out his vulnerabilities?

Vasili continued to surprise him. Niko had thought he’d seen every side of the prince, but now he wondered if he’d merely scratched the surface of who the prince really was.

The prince was unavoidable. His very presence made Niko’s skin burn.

Vasili kissed like he wanted to carve Niko open and devour him from the inside out. He tasted of citrus and bitterness. Of Caville poison. And Niko had never wanted so desperately to fuck a man raw as he did this prince.

Then he traced a thumb over my lips and said, “Blinding…I know I said it before but damn, Xander. You step into view and there’s nothing but you.”

But somewhere during this nightmare of a situation, Sean had become my anchor. He’d become my port in the storm, and in some weird twist of fate, it appeared I had somehow become his.

Kuon hated the power the man had over him. He hated

Kuon hated the power the man had over him. He hated that he couldn’t even get mad at Yugo, because as soon as the man showed him glimpses of kindness all fight bleed out of his body, leaving behind only trembling agitation, that often disappeared under Yugo’s kisses.

But all remembered beauty is no more
Than a vague prelude to the thought of you—
You are the rarest soul I ever knew.

But all remembered beauty is no more
Than a vague prelude to the thought of you—
You are the rarest soul I ever knew.

“...I feel like—like a river without water. The world feels so off without you, and you’re the only thing that makes me feel whole.”

It was bliss. It was torture. It was everything he had missed and wanted these past weeks. More than the sex—the closeness. The rightness. The exquisite intimacy of holding this person in his arms and feeling at peace with himself and the world. Like two pieces of a puzzle. Two pieces of a puzzle that should have never fit together and yet they had somehow learned to—and now couldn’t unlearn it.

“Fine,” he grumbled, resuming stroking. “But don’t get any funny ideas. If you even think about sticking your cock in my ass—”
“Not planning to,” Logan said. “I have standards.”
“I hate you,” Andrew said with feeling, fisting his cock faster. “God, I can’t stand you.”
Logan snorted. “The feeling is mutual, you bigoted little tease,” he said, his cock pressing harder and harder between Andrew’s cheeks.

“For as long as there is breath in my lungs, I will love you. Only you. And even when I leave this world, I will still belong to you, for my soul will forever seek yours. In both this life and the next.

“There is no greater happiness than having you by my side.”

I saw him as a god, a man to be feared by all, but one I loved above all others.

The passage of time had touched many things, but it had not changed his beauty. If anything, it had only enhanced it.

“When you are near, it’s as if my soul reaches out to touch yours,” he spoke, moving his fingers along my jaw and staring at me with a look that made my stomach flutter. “To reconnect with a missing piece. And when we part, I leave that piece with you.”

Impulsively, Zane l

Impulsively, Zane leaned forward and kissed Ryan. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For …” Zane swallowed hard. “Not being afraid to see what was right in front of our faces.”