The Perfect Machine: Kingdom Of Glass (GxG

35. Don't lie to me

"Let me help you," Harlow suggests, and I turn to face her when she reaches the top of the wardrobe to pull down a few shirts that I was trying to get.

"Thank you," I smile as I take them into my hands and pack them in a bag. Arthur told me to gather some clothes just if we ended up on the road longer than we planned. We never know if we're going to hit a bunch of bumps on the way.

I continue to pull garments out of the closets while Harlow glances at me. She has this intent, thoughtful look on her face.

"What's on your mind?" I ask, taking a step towards her.

"Nothing," She answered, and I bite my inner cheek as I took another step towards her, so close that I could almost feel her breath on my face.

"Don't lie to me," I state, but she keeps peering down at me. Slowly, I extend my hand to her cheek, tracing the black veins on her skin. She's not stopping or turning away from me. Harlow is just staring, deep in her thoughts.

"What are you thinking about?" I wonder, but there's still no response. She parted her lips for a second, and I was hoping that a few words would come out of her.

Her black eyes haven't left me since she stepped in. I put my hands on her waist, which makes her look down at them. She stares intently at me and then brushes a few threads of my hair behind my ear.

Slowly, she leans down to me as if she were asking for me to let her in. I laid my arms around her neck to bring her down to meet my lips. I've been waiting on her to do that for what feels like a lifetime now.

Her soft lips are so warm and delicate that a wave of greed sweeps over me. I'm trying to pull her tighter to me, even though she's the nearest she can be at the moment. I sense her hands are moving down my waist; her warmth has made me press my lips harder against hers.

Feeling her hands clenched around my thighs broke our connection as she lifted me off the floor. I smile shyly as my cheeks turn hot. I can see that she has the same intention as I have.

She places her parted lips back on mine and I pull her tighter to me when I feel us move. A couple of steps later and we collapse down on the bed with her on top of me. Harlow beams at me warmly before her lips return to mine.

I try to grab the bottom of her shirt and pull it off. She pushes herself up as she sees what I want. I take it off and toss it away. She leans back down, gazing longingly into my eyes. I rest my palms on her abdomen, gently pressing them up against her ribs and feel the muscles beneath her skin. Her body is so firm that it's almost unimaginable.

I pull her down to me. Her hands find their way under my sweater, her skin so mild and soft as it flows over my belly. Harlow lifts herself, widens her eyes, and reaches for air.

"Hey," I grabbed her arm before she could get out of bed.

"What's wrong?" I ask, concerned as she just turns away.

"I-I can't," She says, leaping out of bed. I could feel the pain in my heart straight away.

"Yes, you can," I get out of bed and take her by the arm to look her in the eyes.

"We can," I restate calmly.

"No," She shakes her head and takes my hand off her arm. I observe her picking up her shirt from the floor.

"I can't," Harlow says again, even though the look on her face tells me something else. She puts her shirt back on and starts going to the entrance.

"Harlow," I call her name, but she's not going to stop.

"Jordan!" I raise my voice this time and she turns to me. I go over to her.

"I-I can't do that to you," Harlow takes a deep breath.

"What?" I say as I put my hands on her collarbones to stare deep into her eyes. I hope she can reveal everything that is on her mind.

"You and I can't," I take a step back to let my arms fall to my side. "This shouldn't happen," My hands turn into fists as I struggle to suppress my anger.

"No," I argue.

"River, I'm going to die! "She bursts out in frustration. I step away from her as my heart falls to the very bottom of my core.

"We can resolve it," I claim, trying to reach for her hand again, but she declines.

"You and I are not going to happen and that's it," She said, bringing up an entire storm in me as I slap her cheek. Harlow doesn't respond to my unexpected touch, but I can tell she didn't see it coming. I look down at the floor, unable to see her in the eye after what I did. I leave the room before I do anything else that I'm going to regret.