Unbearable (the TORQUED trilogy Book 2) by Shey Stahl Read Free Book Online Page B

me before his body shakes, his mouth returning against my lips as we share breaths. His hands, his lips, the ones that have touched me so intensely over the last few months, hold me in place.
    Breathing heavily against my ear, he holds himself still, gripping my hips so hard they begin to hurt.
    I let my hand drift up to the side of his face, running my fingertips along the edge of his cheek. For a spilt second, his eyes open to me. I want to see warmth and connection reach his eyes, and when I don’t see it, a hint of fear pricks at my skin because all that’s there is sadness. His lids fall shut again as he kisses me harder.
    He slows it down and he kisses me softly, pouring emotions he says he doesn’t have into them. Under the sadness, there’s vulnerability he doesn’t want.
    Rolling off me, he lies on the bed, breathing heavily.
    I sit up, curling into myself and then he’s sitting up too, his hands resting on his bare legs. That intense stare lingers on me, as does the confusion. Running his hand over the back of his neck, there’s hesitation in his movements. “Raven,” he whispers, the lowness hitting my stomach with the fragile way I’m holding onto his expression. “I know when you leave this room you’re going to pick apart everything that’s been said and in doing that, you’re going to focus on me telling you I didn’t want anything but sex.” He leans in enough for his lips to meet my forehead, his grip around my waist tightening. “But what I want you to understand, no, I need you to understand, it’s not that I can’t fall in love, it’s that I don’t want to. Yeah, another time, another place, maybe things could’ve been different and believe me, hands down, Raven, it would have been you, but it’s just not who I am. What we have right now, this is all I can give. I’m sorry if that’s not enough.”
    Reality crashes down on me like a wrench straight to my temple. A wave of heat hits me, this one humiliation because like it or not, I’m emotionally invested.
    Stupid girl.
    I turn away, my eyes on the wall because I’m about to cry. I know he cares about me but what we’re doing doesn’t matter to him in the same way it does to me.
    To him it’s sex. Always will be.
    He kisses the spot between my shoulders and then the back of my neck.
    Goose bumps shiver over my skin. “I have to go. I’m heading to Eugene in the morning. My classes start tomorrow.” My voice breaks apart, much like my heart. “I’ll be back on Friday though.”
    Blinking at my words, he turns me around, his eyes on mine. I don’t recognize the expression on his face. It’s one I’ve never seen before. Regret? Doubtful.
    “I’m looking forward to it.” A smile plays at his lips, and though it’s a familiar sight, one I’ve seen often these last few months, something seems different about it. He leans toward me, kissing the shell of my ear. With his hands on my shoulders, he pulls away.
    Removing my hand from around his neck, he kisses the knuckles of my right hand and touches my face with the other.
    My stomach twists the moment I’m out the door because I know what’s happening, I’m falling for him and the gutting reality is he isn’t, nor will he let himself.

“So….” Lenny begins. Her eyes widen when I glance over at her. “Red knows about you and Tyler.” Lenny is Red’s girlfriend and she’s quickly become my best friend. I tell every single shitty thing about my life to her. Naturally, she was the only one outside of me and Tyler who knew we’d been hooking up.
    “Red knows?” I gasp, my hand over my heart. It’s pounding so hard, so fast, I think it’s going to pop out of my chest. “Is Tyler still alive?”
    When I left the apartment this morning I went back home to get the rest of my clothes I’ll need for the week and then over to Red’s house to talk to Lenny. It’s been something like five hours since I saw Tyler; he could very well be dead by now if Red