"Okay."

That's it.

That's all she says about it.

Okay.

She's still looking at me.

My anger still hasn't waned.

I turn, prepared to walk away, when she lets out an exasperated sigh. "How long are you going to stay pissed?"

"Who says I'm pissed?"

"Me," she says. "I say you're pissed."

I turn back to her, surprised she's pushing this issue, that she's pressing these buttons she knows better than to press. "You sure you want to do this right now? You sure you want to have this conversation?"

"Yes."

No hesitation.

No second-guessing.

She stares at me, awaiting an explanation.

Fair enough. I'll give her what she wants.

"I'm going to stay pissed for as long as I am pissed," I tell her. "And I'm going to keep getting pissed as long as life keeps pissing me off."

"Maybe when you're done being pissed about it all, you'll finally let yourself start grieving what you lost."

"I have grieved."

"You're not supposed to lie to me."

Her accusatory tone sets me off. She thinks I'm a liar? That I lie to her? That's what she thinks of me? I've been teetering on a knife-edge all damn day and she just pushed me too much, too far, too fast.

Before she can react, I grab ahold of her, pinning her against the wall, my body flush against hers, my hand around her throat. She gasps loudly, startled, the sharp inhale sending shivers through me, gunning straight for my cock.

I'm hard. Instantly.

I don't squeeze, my fingers resting at her jugular, forcing her to look up at me. I can feel her pulse. Her heart beats wildly. I restrain her there, staring down at her, tip of her nose to the tip of my nose. Her breaths are unsteady, her hands shaking as they grasp my forearms.

I wonder if she's terrified or turned on...

She could get away if she wanted, weasel from my grasp without much effort, but she doesn't move. Her eyes shine brightly, wide and alert, regarding me with anticipation.

Staring at me with expectation.

It's not a rebuff, as she shoves against me, her chest hitting mine. No, it's an invitation.

No way will I decline.

I shove her roughly against the wall again, pulling her head up further, forcing her onto her tiptoes. I smash my lips to hers, kissing her hard. Her hands claw at my forearm, nails raking against the skin, but it's just for show. She fights my presence but keeps me there, gripping tightly so I can't break away, as she kisses me back.

The chills roll through me like waves, tingling from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet, making my cock throb in between. I'm pulsating to the rhythm of her heart as it pounds against my fingertips.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Fuck.

I tear at her clothes with my free hand, teeth nipping at her skin, biting and licking along her jawline. Frustration mounts inside of me. It's probably twenty seconds. It feels like twenty minutes. It's a goddamn eternity not being inside of her.

I let go of her neck, yanking away from her clutch. She grabs ahold of my shirt to stop me from moving away, but I have no intention of leaving. My hands grasp her shorts, yanking them down along with her underwear. She kicks them off as I unbuckle my pants, not bothering to do any more.

It'll take too many seconds.

Grasping her hips, I pull her up. She wraps her legs around my waist and kisses me again. A gasp echoes from her lips when I thrust inside of her, filling her deeply, slamming her back against the wall.

"Fuck," I growl as she wraps her arms around my neck, gripping handfuls of hair and yanking as I do just that.

Fuck.

I fuck her.

I fuck her hard, fuck her with everything in me, fuck her until my skin is sweaty and my knees are weak, until my skull throbs and my body feels like it's going to detonate. I fuck her until my side feels like I've been shot all over again. She presses against the wall as I pound into her, again and again, the light switch digging into her back. The force moves it, the lights flickering, but she doesn't seem to notice and I don't give a shit.

Her eyes are squeezed shut, her bottom lip clamped between her teeth as she tries to restrain her cries.

Shifting position, I try to slide a hand between us, but we're too close and she's relying on me to hold her up. Grunting, she nearly slips from my grip as I grasp her hips tightly and pull her away from the wall. I stagger across the room, her body colliding with the crisp sheets of the still made bed in the dim lighting. Her eyes open as I climb between her legs, hovering over top of her. A sliver of blood slices her bottom lip from where her teeth pierced the fragile skin. Her tongue darts out, slowly licking it away as she stares at me.

Watching her ignites a fire in my veins.

A fire that can't be tamed.

I push inside of her again, driving her thighs apart from the force of the thrust. My fingertips find her clit, rubbing firm circles around it, as I fuck her so deep I can practically pierce her soul. She can't stop her cries this time, can't swallow them down like she did before, the strangled noises bouncing off the walls so loudly I'm surprised they don't quake the ground.

It doesn't take long before her body tenses, muscles growing taut from her impending orgasm.

As soon as I feel it building, clawing at her from the inside, I pull from her lips. She inhales sharply, filling her lungs with a deep breath, before my hand wraps around her throat once more.