The Secret 02 The Forever of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen Page A

go. You deserve better than what I can give you.”
    “I don’t understand why you don’t think you’re good enough for me.”
    “Because I’m not.” She shrugs nonchalantly. “Because eventually you’ll hate me… It’s inevitable.”
    “I could never hate you.” I tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear and let my fingers stroke the side of her neck before I pull away. “I couldn’t even hate you when I thought you cheated. Yeah, I was furious, but I still loved you.”
    “That day I said that—those days I couldn’t get out of bed, I was having a nervous breakdown. My therapist put me on some stuff for anxiety and depression.” Her eyes turn watery like she might cry. “Micha, you don’t want this, trust me. I watched my mother’s problems eat away at my dad… I’ll drag you into that dark hole with me. You just need to go. Walk away.
Please
walk away.”
    With the pad of my thumb, I wipe a tear that escapes her eye. “I hate to say this Ella, but your father is fucking weak. He can’t blame what he does on anyone but himself. And I’m not him and you’re not your mom. Just because their story ended badly doesn’t mean our will.”
    She turns her head away to avoid my gaze. “I don’t want this for you.”
    I hook my finger under her chin and force her to look at me as I brace a hand on the tree beside her. “I’m sorry, pretty girl, but you really don’t get to choose what I want, what I do, or who I get to be with. So unless you want me to leave you because you don’t love me anymore, I’m not going anywhere.”
    When she doesn’t say anything, I crash my lips into hers and she gasps as her fingers knot into my hair. Crushing my body against hers, my hand wanders down her side, along the curve of her breast, each rib, and to the bottom of her dress. I reach up it, grab hold of her panties, and slide them down her legs. When they’re to her knees, she draws back slightly and kicks them off, and then she flips the button of my jeans open. I lift her up and press her against into the tree as I thrust inside her.
    When I reunite my mouth with hers, she bites down on my lip. It drives me crazy as she gently pulls my lip ring into her mouth while running her tongue along it. Holding her by the hip, my other hand travels up her body to the top of her dress, and I yank it down to cup her breast.
    Her eyes glaze over as she her head falls back. “Micha, I do love you but I…”
    I kiss her fervently, drawing away only for a second to say, “I love you too.”

Ella
    I don’t know how it’s possible for it to feel this good, just because he’s inside me, but it does. God, it does. My intentions weren’t meant to lead to sex when I went out into the forest. I just wanted to tell him the truth away from everyone—he deserved the truth.
    I think Lila was right, though. Micha’s love owns me and I’ll probably always end up giving into him as long as he keeps trying. But I still fear I’ll break him, and that boy is too damn sweet and beautiful to ruin.
    He’s thrusting inside me as he pins my arms above my head and the bark of the tree scrapes my back. But it’s worth the pain as I scream out in bliss and my worries fleetingly vanish.
    His movements begin to slow, and then he pushes deep inside me one last time, before stilling. We pant, fervently clinging onto to each other, our skin damp, our hearts racing.
    “I really love that dress,” he whispers in my ear and the heat of his breath makes me shiver. “You look beautiful in it.”
    A smile touches my lips and I slant back to look him in the eyes. “You tell me that too much. It’s making me cocky.”
    “No, I’m the cocky one.” His smile is almost blinding.
    My face turns serious as I lightly brush my swollen lips to his. “We still need to talk—”
    “Ella!” Lila’s voice echoes through the forest. “Caroline needs you!”
    I jump out of Micha’s arms and adjust my dress back over my breasts as I search the