Tell Me You Love Me

27| Desperate

Chapter 27: Desperate (Brielle's POV)

"Stop staring at him, Jesus," Alia laughed, nudging my arm. 

"Why does he have to look like that?" 

"Shouldn't you be happy your husband is attractive?" 

"I am, but I'm not happy that other women also find him just as attractive as I do," I huffed, folding my arms across my chest. "Whatever. I'm going to the bathroom. I'll be right back." 

She nodded in response and I left the banquet hall, heading for the bathrooms. 

I am well aware that I was jealous. I admit that I was. Since we got here and so did all the guests, all the girls have been staring at him and Bethany wasn't the first that I saw trying to flirt with him. Just how he got jealous when I disappeared with Ezra, I got jealous when he was with Bethany. Nothing even happened with Ezra, he just pulled me aside to ask me if I ever spoke to Bethany about marrying River because he's genuinely interested in her now. 

I walked into the girls' bathroom and did my business before coming out and washing my hands. I grabbed tissues, drying them off, and then tossed my hair behind my shoulders, getting ready to leave. When I walked out of the bathroom and into the hallway that led to the main lobby that I came from, I froze. I froze because he was right there, leaning against the wall, waiting for me to come out. 

"You're very good at avoiding people," he said, pushing himself off the wall. 

I stared at him, trying not to let my face give anything away. "What do you want, River?" 

"I think you owe me an explanation. You were getting ready earlier so I didn't push it. You ran away this morning and avoided me the whole day. Why?" 

"Because I just felt like it," I shrugged, leaning against the wall opposite him. "Why else?" 

He rolled his eyes and stepped forward, putting his palms on the wall and caging me in. He ducked his head down and let out a sigh before looking back at me. "You look very pretty." 

That caught me off-guard. I was expecting to say things to make me squirm, but no. "I know," I replied, trying not to smile. 

He chuckled, stepping closer. "Why are you freaking out over the fact that we kissed a few times?" 

"Because it wasn't supposed to happen," I answered. 

"And what if I made it happen again?" He lifted a brow at me daringly. 

"Why would you kiss me again? We both were in the moment last night but are you really that desperate?" I asked. 

"Desperate? To what?" he scoffed. 

"Sleep with me?" 

"Maybe," he nodded. 

"Let me ask you something. How many girls have you slept with out of lust?" 

He stared at me in confusion. 

"Okay. How many girls have you slept with out of genuine feelings?" 

"None," he admitted. 

"And I haven't slept with anybody out of lust. I don't plan to either. If you want to sleep with me, it can only happen if you genuinely have feelings for me." 

"You want me to fall in love with you?" he asked. 

"No, I just want you to feel anything but lust." 

"You know what I read one time, Brielle?" He stepped back. "Love can devour you if you're not careful with it." 

I nodded in understanding. "Maybe I want to be devoured then. Will you devour me?" I lifted a brow at him. "The better question is actually, can you?"