When I lift my head, prepared to tell him this can’t happen, he covers my mouth with his before I can speak. His kiss is exactly the opposite of what I would expect from him. He’s tender and sweet as his mouth moves slowly over mine. He kisses me like he’s got nothing he’d rather do—like he has all the time in the world. Before I know it, he’s pulling me down, and I’m following him until we’re lying together on the bed.

“Let me stay here with you,” he whispers between kisses, one hand moving slowly up and down my back.

“You can’t do that. You know we’d end up getting caught.” And I doubt Piper would be a big fan of the idea.

“Fine. Then stay with me. I have an apartment just down the street.”

“You what?”

“I couldn’t stay in that house anymore,” he explains, pulling back enough to look me in the eye but still caressing me as he speaks. “And I sure as hell couldn’t go to MIT. So I got an apartment down the street from campus. How else do you think I’ve managed to be here? You could stay there with me.”

“Colt… I couldn’t do that. I could never do that.” I shrug away from his touch, backing myself up to the wall to put as much space between us as possible. It still isn’t much, but I can think more clearly when I’m not in his arms. “I could never trust you. After everything you’ve done? No way.”

“You already trust me.”

“Bullshit.”

“Did you or did you not ask me to stay with you that night? You know what I’m talking about. You like it when I hold you. You like it when I’m with you. I make you feel safe. And I meant it when I said I’m never going to hurt you again. All of that is over.”

“I don’t know…”

“I know something else, too.” He reaches out, this time placing a hand on my hip. “You like it when I make you come.”

“Don’t do that.”

“Don’t do what? Touch you? You can’t pretend not to like it when I touch you.” And he keeps doing it, too, his hand sliding over my hip and around to my ass. I wish it didn’t feel so good. I wish I was strong enough to make him stop.