Page 141 of What We Brave
The soft pad of bare feet on hardwood.
I know it's her before she reaches the doorway. Can feel her presence like a change in air pressure. My grip tightens on the counter.
Don't turn around. Don't look. Get yourself together first.
A small gasp.
I turn around.
Idiot.
She's standing in the kitchen entrance wearing one of Reid's t-shirts, hem hitting mid-thigh. Hair a mess. Lips swollen. There's a mark on her collarbone that wasn't there yesterday—Reid's—and right beside it, mine. Dark and angry against her pale skin.
My whole body goes tight.
Mine.Still there. Still visible. Right next to his. Something about that—the two marks side by side, his and mine on her skin—hits me somewhere below the ribs. Not jealousy. Something hungrier. Something that wants to add more.
She's staring at my chest like she's never seen a shirtless man before. Her eyes track down my stomach, my hips, the waistband of my sweats, and I feel it like a physical touch. Every place her gaze lands, my skin burns.
Say something. Anything. Stop standing here like you forgot how words work.
"Morning."
Real smooth, Moore.
"I—" She blinks. Drags her eyes up to my face. "Hi."
"Sleep well?"
Her cheeks flush pink. "Um. Eventually."
I push off from the counter and take a step toward her. She doesn't back up, but her breath catches. I hear it. File it away.
"Reid treat you right?"
The flush deepens to red. "Blake?—"
"Not being weird about it." I let myself smile. It takes more effort than it should because what I actually want to do is cross this kitchen and put my mouth on her throat. "Genuinely asking. He fuck you good?"
Her mouth opens. Closes. Opens again.
"I... yes?" She sounds bewildered. "You're not... you don't sound upset."
"No?"
"You sound..." She tilts her head, studying me. "Turned on."
"Give the lady a prize."
"But we—I mean, Reid and I?—"
"I know what you did." Another step closer. She's within arm's reach now. My fingers itch. I shove my hands in my pockets to keep them off her. "Been thinking about it all night."
"And that doesn't bother you?"
"Thought it would." I'm close enough to see the pulse jumping in her throat. Jackrabbit fast. I want to put my mouth right there. Feel it hammering against my lips. "Turns out watching you walk around looking like that is doing something else entirely."
Her eyes widen. She wraps her arms around herself—not defensive. Self-conscious. Like she just realized what she looks like. What she's broadcasting.
