“Just take her,” he said. “I’ve had her.”

I stared at him, the challenge clear, but while I would’ve mouthed off or walked out ten minutes ago, I felt roots sprout from the bottoms of my shoes, keeping me steady.

An oak.

The eye of the storm.

Aydin laughed to himself and rose from the chair, replacing the panel that kept the snakes confined, and ruffling my hair as he headed out of the room. “You know where to find me,” he called out, “when you’re ready for the next level, Miss Scott.”

He left and Will looked at me, shaking his head. He wouldn’t even stop me if I jumped on every dick in this house right now.

He didn’t care, because he hated me.

“Nothing was going on,” I told him.

“I don’t care,” he shot back. “And you wouldn’t care if I did.”

Without another word, he twisted around and walked away.

My lungs constricted. “Godzilla,” I called out, taking a step forward.

He stopped. Turning back around, he narrowed his hard eyes. “What?”

I took another step, tempted to fidget or look away or shrink like it was always in my nature to do when I was scared shitless, but I kept my gaze locked on him.

No matter how much it hurt.

None of what’s happening right now is a surprise. I knew it was coming. Handle it.

“You, um…” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “You missed a Godzilla movie since you’ve been gone. King of the Monsters,” I told him. “It was pretty decent, except for the plot.”

He remained still, eyeing me suspiciously.

I took another step.

He could walk out any second, but I wouldn’t let him. Stay.

“Good cinematography and action sequences,” I said. “You get to see Mothra, too.”

The sprinklers overhead sprouted to life, but I didn’t look away as warm rain fell over the trees, plants, and garden, wetting my clothes.

I removed my glasses, setting them on the edge of another tree bed.

“I bought Milk Duds and Twizzlers.” I chuckled under my breath. “I don’t know why because I was on my own, and I didn’t need all that candy, but I didn’t eat the Milk Duds.” I swallowed, staring deep into his eyes. “I couldn’t help but think… ‘Will would love this.’”

My eyes stung, but I blinked away the tears, knowing exactly why I bought the Milk Duds. They were Will’s.

Water cascaded down his bare chest, and I breathed steadily, unwavering no matter how hard my heart pounded.

“I kept wondering what you’d say about the movie,” I told him. “And what you’d like about it.”

His eyes stayed on mine as I inched forward, water dripping down his mouth and glistening on his skin.

Please stay.

His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down the closer I got, and he dropped his eyes, breathing harder.

“Mothra?” he murmured.

“And King Ghidorah, too.” I nodded. “All the titans. The visual effects were amazing.”

Stepping up to him, I stopped as my shirt grazed his chest. Heat pooled in my belly, feeling him so close.

“They’re releasing Godzilla vs. Kong soon,” I told him, kicking off my shoes.

His chest rose and fell in front of me, and I gazed at all the skin my fingers hummed to touch. I balled my fists.

“They’re both heroes,” he replied. “The ending will be ambiguous, Emory.”

“No.” I shook my head, pulling my shirt off and dropping it to the ground. “The directors have stated there will be a clear winner.”

He stared at my body, his breathing growing ragged. “What the fuck?” he griped. “Fucking writers.”

My clit throbbed, and I stared at his mouth, damn near tasting him and wanting to climb him so damn bad.

“So it’ll be Kong,” I stated, unbuttoning Rory’s pants around my waist. “It’s more hopeful for the underdog to win.”

He watched me, unblinking. “Japan will ban the film if Godzilla doesn’t win.”

“I guess he could win,” I told him, dropping the pants to the floor as rain hit my breasts, arms, and back. “With Godzilla’s arsenal, and the fact that he can fight on land and at sea…”

“And in the comic books, he battles God and the devil, for crying out loud,” he said. “What the hell’s Kong ever done?”

I leaned up on my tiptoes, our lips inches from each other. “Godzilla now also emits an omnidirectional blast.”

“He does?”

I nodded. “You missed it.”

Running my fingertips up his chest, I tried to swallow, but my mouth was too dry.

“Told you,” he said. “How’s Kong going to survive a molecular level attack?”

I pressed my body to his, my hard, little nipples aching against his heat.

He shook a little underneath my hands, and I couldn’t take it anymore. I curled my fists again, my body boiling, and I didn’t care that I wanted to squeeze the life out of him half the time—I wanted in his bed.

But I wasn’t asking for anything. I was taking it.

My heart damn near in my throat, I pushed him down into the chair to my left and hovered over his lips as I slid my hand up his chest.

He laughed, gripping the arms of the chair. “You want it?” he taunted. “You’re not getting it.”

I grazed my lips across his cheek, over his jaw, and down his neck, the hunger making my clit throb so hard I had to hold back a whimper as the rain fell all over my naked body.

“You don’t have to do a thing,” I whispered over his skin. “In fact…”

I slid my hand inside his pants and dived for his cock, fisting the hard muscle.

He gasped, his eyes going wide.

“You don’t even have to move,” I told him, pumping him slow and tight. “Stay right here, because I’m going to drain you dry.”

I squeezed his neck, gentle but possessive before sliding to my knees and drawing my claws down his chest and then his thighs.

He was mine. Straightening my back, I felt his eyes on my breasts as I untied the drawstring and pulled down his pants, just enough so I could take him out.

Water sprayed my hair, my chest, his stomach, and his face as he stared down at me, a cross between anger and excitement in his eyes.

But he wasn’t stopping me.

Fisting his cock, I stroked it as I kissed and licked his stomach, running my free hand around his waist, over his back, and up his chest. I nibbled and bit, dragging his skin out with my teeth before sucking it into my mouth, his body caving under me with every breath.

“Fuck,” he whispered, groaning.

Coming back down, I cast him a quick look, seeing his white knuckles as he gripped the arms of the chair. Holding his eyes, I moved the head of his dick to the opening of my mouth, not slipping it in just yet as I teased him.

I flicked my tongue, tasting his heat as his eyes softened and need flashed across his face.

“Emmy,” he panted.

And my heart started to shatter, hearing a younger, happier Will Grayson begging me to let him hold me again.

I closed my eyes and slid him into my mouth, pushing my lips down his shaft until the tip touched the back of my throat.