“Maybe I don’t want to be good anymore. Maybe what I want is to not be held like porcelain. Maybe I want to be dirtied up. Maybe I want you to give it all to me.” He grinds his teeth together, his jaw working as he does. When he finally opens his eyes, he slides his hand to the nape of my neck and grasps tightly. “I’m trying to be a gentleman, Hallie.” “And maybe I don’t want you to be a gentleman, Lane. You’ve made this about me from day one. I know that you respect me, and I know that you want to move at my pace, and I am ready for you to not treat me like I’m breakable. I’m ready for this.”
