Coup De Grâce Read Online Free PDF Page A

this?”
    Then his body crowded mine against the counter, and I forgot how to breathe.
    “Do what?” I asked breathlessly.
    He chuckled, then his mouth was on mine.
    He tasted like heaven, mint with a hint of the Dr. Pepper he’d just finished drinking.
    My hands went underneath his shirt as I said, “I’m ready.”
    He blinked, then abruptly circled his arms around my lower legs, and lifted me off my feet.
    “Jesus,” he breathed, turning around and walking quickly to my bedroom.
    He didn’t bother with the lights, only laid me down on the bed before following me down.
    “Are you sure? Because I’m about to lose control here, and I don’t want you to regret anything. Regret me,” he whispered.
    In answer, I started stripping his shirt from his body, and then started working on his pants.
    He lifted up and resumed his own disrobing, allowing me to shimmy my dress up and over my head.
    All my careful planning for the night that included my outfit, down to the straightness of my hair, was out the window once his naked body pressed against mine.
    “I’m so sure I can’t even stand it,” I told him, widening my legs to allow his hips to slip between them.
    He growled against my mouth, hand moving up to cup my breast.
    “Good,” he rasped, moving up to his knees.
    When I heard the sound of a package ripping open, I stopped him.
    “I’m on the pill,” I breathed, arching up to him. “And I’m clean.”
    He continued rolling on the condom. “I’m clean, too. But I always wear a condom. No matter what. Less chance of having kids that way.”
    I nodded, slightly upset that I’d wasted all that money going on birth control when he wasn’t even going to utilize the benefits of it.
    Then I was filled completely with him, and I forgot to be disappointed.
    Because he was anything but disappointing.

***
    That next day, in my brother’s kitchen, had been the showdown that had ended our relationship.
    I wanted kids. He didn’t.
    Well, that wasn’t exactly what he’d said. More like he wanted kids…just not with me .
    That simple.
    “You…would…would you be willing to adopt?” He asked softly.
    I blinked.
    “What?” I asked in surprise.
    He looked down at his hands, inspecting his fingers as he said, “Would you be willing to adopt? Or have kids that weren’t mine? Maybe by a sperm bank or something.”
    I considered that for a moment, letting what he was saying sink in.
    “Are you asking me if I’d be willing to adopt a child and still be with you?” I confirmed.
    He finally looked up at me, and my breath caught.
    His pupils were dilated and I was fairly positive it wasn’t because he was on drugs.
    He took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
    “I miss you.”
    Three simple words that had the power to defeat me.
    “Michael, us breaking up…it wasn’t over something minor. It was huge. Pivotal. But it wasn’t even just the fact that you said you didn’t want kids with me. It was the fact that you were so final about it. You wouldn’t talk to me. You wouldn’t share your feelings with me. Hell, but you fucked me with your t-shirt on, and wouldn’t let me in! Then you just shut down and didn’t even explain ,” I said fiercely.
    He let all that he was feeling seep into two words. “I’m sorry.”
    I just shook my head. “It’s going to take a lot more than just ‘ sorry’ to make everything alright.”
    “Will you…will you come with me. Somewhere? I want to show you something,” he said softly.
    “I have to go to a meeting tomorrow at eight. I can’t stay out late,” I tried.
    He shook his head. “I’ll keep you there as long as you want to be there. The minute you want to go home, I’ll take you.”
    “My car’s here,” I countered.
    “I’ll drive you back up here in the morning,” he said pleadingly.
    I looked at him for a long while before I came to my decision.
    “Fine. Just…don’t hurt me again, Michael. It hurt enough the first time to last me a thousand