Page 63 of Rival Season
Without a word, Penn scoops me off the counter and walks us toward the hallway. I don't know where he’s taking me, and I can’t muster the energy to care. All I know is I want to be wherever he is…and it has nothing to do with him being my fake anything.
CHAPTER 23
PENN
I don’t havea single coherent thought running through my mind as I carry Hazel away from the party, except that I need to get her alone.
Now.
When I stormed downstairs to her apartment earlier, I didn’t know what I expected to find as I pushed past Chadwick at her front door and rushed to her room—but it certainly wasn’t Hazel looking likethat.
The red two-piece dress alone was enough to light a fire in me, but the fact that she was wearing it formemade it insanely hotter. Dancing against her, moving with her, feeling her pulse thrumming beneath her skin as I moved my hands over her, poured kerosene over the proverbial flames…and then, that damned body shot was my undoing.
I can still taste her soft, sweet skin on my tongue, feel the way her body trembled when I put my mouth on her. My hand tightens on Hazel’s thigh at the thought, and she inhales a sharp breath as I stride towards my bedroom with her in my arms.
I walk us inside the darkened room and slam the door behind us, blocking out the people and the party and the whole world that exists outside of us at this moment.
“Penn…” Hazel rasps.
Hearing my name come from her mouth in that tone frays the last shreds of my self-control. I adjust her in my grip until her legs wrap around my waist, and her hands thread through my hair. I press Hazel up against the door until my body is flush with hers, desperately seeking as much contact as possible. I bury my face in her neck, inhaling her sweet scent, and her fingertips pull the hair at the nape of my neck so hard that somewhere in the back of my hazy mind, I register that it hurts, but it also feels so good.
“I needed to get you alone,” I hiss against her skin.
Hazel shudders as she squirms against me. “Penn…” she trails off, her sentence left unfinished and hanging between us as she sucks in another shaky breath.
I pull back far enough that I can look at her, and with her weight now supported against the door, I remove my hands from where they’re holding her thighs and slide them up her body, skimming her hips, her ribs, before I drag my fingertips against her collarbones—so delicate under my hands—and then move them up to cup her face. I tilt Hazel’s chin up so she’s looking at me. The molten expression on her face, it takes everything in me not to claim her mouth then and there. Her eyes are heavy-lidded, her pupils dilated, and her sexy red lips are parted in a perfect little O-shape. Her frantic pulse is pounding under my fingers on her neck, and her chest is rising and falling quickly with short, sharp breaths.
She wants this kiss to be real as much as I do.
But I know that could be her body talking. The chemistry crackling between us is like nothing I’ve ever felt before. Before I kiss her for real, I need confirmation that she’s not being driven solely by the heat of the moment. I don’t want her to do anything that she’ll regret tomorrow.
I lean my forehead against hers, trying to catch my breath. Her lips are so close. So tempting. I cup her face a little tighter.
“Is this a bad idea?” I grit out, at the same time reaching around and removing the clip from her hair so her curls spill over her shoulders.
“I don’t know.” She shakes her head, then sinks her teeth into her lower lip. “It doesn’tfeellike a bad idea.”
Our bodies are pressed together so tight, it’s torture. Hazel whimpers, and I swallow.
“We’re completely alone right now,” I say, millimeters from her mouth. “Which means this isn’t part of our agreement.”
Her breath is coming in pants as she shifts her weight. “Maybe we could amend our agreement,” she says shakily, her hands running through my hair before she pulls my head closer.
“What did you have in mind?” I ask, my voice breathless. I can no longer think of a single good reason why we shouldn’t give into our burning attraction for each other.
Hazel is apparently on the same page, because her eyes flare as she whispers, “What if, for the rest of the time in our agreement, you can kiss me anytime you want? In public or private?”
“Like this?” I brush my lips against hers, feather soft and fleeting, and my legs almost buckle under me when she moans.
“Yes,” she breathes out. “Just like that.” Her thighs tighten around my waist, and she utters a desperate plea against my mouth, “Kiss me again, Penn.”
That's all I need.
“Puck it,” I murmur as I close the remaining distance between us. Her lips part for me immediately, and I swallow the little gasp she makes as I finally—finally—put my mouth on hers the way I've been dreaming of doing for weeks.
Hazel’s lips are warm and soft, and she tastes like a heady combination of maple and whisky. I’m greedy, rightaway needingmore.I wrap her long curly hair around my fist, tilting her head back and sliding my tongue against hers. Our tongues tangle together, creating an electric sensation that pulses through my whole body. She hums into my mouth, her back arching.The scent of her skin, the flavor of her mouth, and the heat of her body overwhelm my senses. I allow myself to get lost in everything Hazel.
Nothing has ever felt this good. Thisright.
