Page 81 of Heartless Lord
A shit-eating grin split his lips, and for the first time in our ten-year friendship, I noticed how absurdly good-looking my best friend had gotten.
Had he always been so hot, or was it the gradual broadening of his shoulders, the sudden defining of his abs, the sharpening of his cheekbones and the thinning out of that baby face that I’d somehow missed?
“Now you’re the one staring like a weirdo.” He brought the can to his lips and took a long pull looking way too satisfied with himself.
Nights like these swinging on his back porch weren’t unusual for us. I wouldn’t have survived Mom’s cancer without them. Killian mostly just listened as I poured out my heart and soul, cried, laughed, and everything in between. Sometimes he held me, sometimes he let me take out my anger on his newly rock-hard abs. Sometimes I wondered why he was so good to me.
I glanced up, meeting that watchful gaze, and my heart staggered on a beat. I’d never felt anything like it. A flood of hope, of love, of endless happiness in that one instant. He inched closer, the old wood whining and squealing. He cupped my face with his warm hand and ran his thumb across my cheek.
A faint, but super embarrassing sigh slid through my lips at the familiar and yet unfamiliar touch.
“More Cheetos dust?” I breathed.
“Mmm, something like that.” He ran his tongue across his bottom lip, then his gaze dipped, latching onto my mouth.
His head tilted toward mine until our breaths mingled. My heart punched my ribcage with each inch closer, the manic pace reaching a rapid crescendo until our lips were only a heartbeat away.
Killian was going to kiss me. My best friend was going to put his mouth on mine, and I’d feel the stroke of his tongue, those soft pillowy lips. I would finally know what he tasted like.
My eyes slid closed, and I held my breath.
An eternity passed.
“Kill!” A sharp voice rang out, and I nearly jumped out of my skin.
Killian leapt off the porch swing sending me flying backward. “Oh, shit, sorry, Red.”
He jumped in front of me before I careened off the back porch and stopped the runaway swing. His hands clampedaround my shoulders to steady me, but they had the opposite effect on my suddenly heated skin.
“Damn it,” he hissed. “I should go see what my mom wants. She had a bad day today and?—”
“Sure,” I murmured. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll just sneak out through the backyard.”
It wasn’t that Killian’s mom cared about me being here, it was just easier not being seen sometimes. When I was at a low, Killian was the only person I could stand to be around.
“Coming, Mom!” he called into the house before turning back to me. “I’ll pick you up for school tomorrow?”
“Yeah, definitely.” I nodded, chewing on my bottom lip.
“Night, Red.” Killian’s smile brightened the murky skies, forcing a grin to my own lips.
I watched as he disappeared into the quiet house, then I stood there for a long moment as the darkness settled in around me. Heat blanketed my skin, the summer nights just barely more tolerable than the day. And still, I remained there, unmoving. Because I wanted to remember this night, everything about it.
Killian was my person. The only one left on this earth besides my dad who really knew me. As much as I’d wanted that kiss in that moment, the thought of losing what we had was so much more terrifying. I vowed never to make that mistake with him again.
Spinning toward the wild hedges, I marched through the overgrown grass and forced my feet to Papá’s old truck.
“Hello? Are you still with us?” Lorelei snapped her fingers an inch from my nose as the vivid memories faded.
I swallowed hard, forcing down the painful thoughts of the past.
Sebastian stared at me, that arrogant smirk plastered across his face. He knew he’d gotten to me, and I’d fucking let him.
Pressing my arms across my chest, I glared up at the asshole. “You’re way off base, Sebastian. You need to have a heart to fall in love, and nothing but a bottomless black hole fills Killian’s chest these days.”
“Speak of the devil...” The great Davenport heir’s gaze darted over my shoulder.
That looming presence scraped up my back, sending a flood of goosebumps down my arms. A warm breath tickled the shell of my ear, and I spun around to meet a pair of blazing green orbs.
