Things We Never Got Over (Knockemout, #1)

by Lucy Score

He flinched away from me. “Don’t,” he said harshly. I said nothing but stood my ground. I felt like I could breathe in his anger like it was oxygen. “Don’t,” he said again. “I won’t.” “If you touch me right now…” He shook his head. “I’m not in control, Naomi.” “Just tell me what you need.” His laugh was dry and bitter. “What I need is to find the motherfucking bastard who did this to my brother. What I need is to rewind the clock so I didn’t waste the last however many years over some stupid fucking fight. What I need is for my brother to wake the fuck up.” His breath hitched, and I had no control over my own body. Because one second I was standing in front of him and the next I was wrapping my arms around his waist, holding on and trying to absorb his pain. His body was tight and vibrating as if he was seconds away from coming apart. “Stop,” he said on a broken whisper. “Please.” But I didn’t. I held on tighter, pressing my face to his chest. He swore under his breath, and then his arms were around me, crushing me to him. He buried his face in my hair and clung to me. He was so warm, so solid, so alive. I held on to him for dear life and willed him to release some of what he’d kept bottled up. “Why don’t you ever fucking listen?” he grumbled, lips moving against my hair. “Because sometimes people don’t know how to ask for what they really need. You needed a hug.”