Page 17 of The Bitter Words

I turn sideways to block any view someone might get. Her lips part and a heavy roll of air falls out from her lungs.

“Callum… I’m going to…come.” Her legs press together and a moan slides off her lips.

She shudders for a moment, then her shoulders relax. She takes a few breaths and opens her eyes.

Her lazy gaze lands on mine. “Wow, do I feel better.”

“I bet you do. Damn, Lily. I’m gonna store that one away for future use when you have to return home.”

She fidgets under the covers and sits straight in her seat. “How long before we land?”

“Why? Are you in a hurry to get somewhere?”

“The hotel would be nice.” She gives me a pointed stare. “That was enough to tide me over, but I need a lot more than that to be satisfied.”

A strange twinge gets tangled up in my stomach. We haven’t been able to be together and she’s more sexually confident than she was before I left. She always has been, but something has changed.

She wouldn’t cheat on me. Would she? My face bunches up at the thought.

“Callum, what’s wrong?”

I shake my head. “You seem more… I don’t know. Maybe more sexually open than you used to be. Why?”

“I haven’t had sex in months. It’s gotten to me.”

“Sorry.” I sit with an ember simmering in my chest. I feel bad that I haven’t been able to give her what she obviously wants. Maybe more than I care to admit. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“How often do you…you know, masturbate?”

“Every night. How about you?”

“Every night?” I stumble over her answer. “You need to get off that much? How come?”

“It feels good and helps me fall asleep. Why? How often do you jerk off?”

“Disturbingly, not as much as you.”

“Why is that disturbing?” She studies me.

“Because I thought guys were the ones who needed that, not girls.”

“Welcome to the feminine age, Callum. Women’s empowerment is on the rise and with that comes permission for us to let our freak flags fly, anyway, anywhere, and with anybody we choose.”

Oh, that does it. Fire erupts in my heart.

“What the fuck are you trying to tell me, Livianna? Just how much are you waving your flag around?” The accusation in my words can’t be denied.

“You can’t seriously be thinking I would do something that would ruin our relationship.” She crosses her arms and glares at me. “Remember, you’re the one out there getting his photo taken with other chicks.”

I grit my teeth. “You know what that was about.”

“So you say.” Her chest heaves. “If you’re going to accuse me of doing something behind your back, don’t be shocked when I give you a dose of the same medicine, Cash.”

I flinch at her use of my stage name. That’s the second time in less than forty-eight hours. I thought I meant more to her than that.

Goddammit!