Page 10 of Lillith
Lillith shrugged, even though her chest felt tight. “Probably not,” she said. He stepped closer until there was barely any space between them.
“And yet?” he asked. She met his gaze and didn’t look away. “Yet here we are,” he finished as his hand lifted like he was going to touch her. He stopped halfway up and dropped his hand back to his side. “Lillith,” he breathed.
“Don’t,” she said quickly. “Don’t do that thing where you push me away and pretend like you don’t feel the same sparks that I feel every time we’re in the same space. I felt it as soon as you walked into the church earlier today.”
His jaw clenched. “It’s not that simple.”
“It could be,” she said. “You’re the one making it complicated.”
“Because it is complicated,” he snapped, before immediately looking like he regretted it.
Lillith didn’t back down. “Then maybe you should let me decide if it’s worth it,” she said quietly. Tank stared at her like she’d just flipped something upside down inside him.
“You don’t walk away from things easily, do you?” he asked.
She smiled, just a little. “Not when I think that they matter.”
“Fuck,” he muttered. And before she could even process what was happening, his hand came up, cupping the back of her neck, pulling her in closer as his mouth crashed against hers. The kiss was hard and fast, like he’d been holding it back and finally lost the fight. Lillith gasped against him, her hands grabbing onto his shirt like she needed something to ground her. He tasted like coffee and bad decisions, and God help her, she leaned into him and kissed him back just as hard. Because if this was a mistake, she was done playing it safe.
His grip tightened, his other hand coming to her waist, pulling her flush against him like he couldn’t get close enough, and for a second, the world disappeared. There was no past, and no running. She was done asking questions. There was just him and the chemistry she felt every time he looked at her.
Tank broke the kiss like it burned him, and stepped back, breathing hard, his eyes dark and conflicted. “Yeah,” he said roughly. “That was a bad idea.”
Lillith blinked, her lips tingling still as her heart raced. “You think that kissing me was a bad idea?” She wasn’t sure if she felt hurt or just pissed off that he said that.
He dragged a hand through his hair again. “You need to go home.”
She stared at him. “You’re unbelievable,” she said, half laughing.
“And you’re still here, when you should be walking away,” he shot back. She should’ve been annoyed or mad, but instead, she smiled at him. Because for the first time since she’d met him, he looked just as wrecked as she felt.
“Goodnight, Tank,” she said softly.
He hesitated and then nodded. “Night, Lillith.” This time, she walked away, and she didn’t turn back. But she felt his eyes on her the entire time, and somehow, that made leaving even harder.
Lillith made it back to the house without getting lost, and that felt like a win. Everything else that happened with Tank—not so much. Her lips still tingled from their kiss, and her heart still felt like it was racing. Her brain, well, that thing had completely checked out somewhere between bad idea and holy shit, he kissed me.
“Get it together,” she muttered under her breath as she pushed the front door open. The house was quiet, and for a split second, she thought maybe Ember had gone to bed—but then the light in the kitchen flicked on.
“Thought you got kidnapped,” Ember drawled.
Lillith jumped, clutching her chest. “Jesus, Ember. You trying to kill me?” Her sister leaned against the counter, with her arms crossed, looking way too amused for someone who had clearly been waiting up.
“Depends,” Ember said. “Do you deserve to die?”
Lillith rolled her eyes, kicking off her shoes. “Probably,” she admitted.
“Mm-hmm.” Ember pushed off the counter and grabbed a glass, filling it with water before sliding it across the island. “So?”
“So what?” Lillith asked, taking the glass even though her throat felt too tight to swallow. Ember just stared at her as Lillith stared back.
“You met him,” Ember said. It wasn’t a question, and Lillith knew that lying to her wasn’t going to get her anywhere.
Lillith sighed, dropping onto one of the stools. “Yeah.”
“And?” Ember asked. Lillith took a long sip of water like it might buy her time, but it didn’t.
“He’s complicated,” she said finally.
