Page 120 of Embrace

She watches me like she’s letting the words sink in.

“And you wanting to see Victor didn’t upset me. It’s that he spoke to you that way and I couldn’t do anything about it. I could never be angry at you.”

“Promise?”

I chuckle. “I promise.”

There’s a glimmer of uncertainty in her features again. “I like you, Kian, I really, really do. But I don’t want to make something that’s supposed to be good feel like a chore. I don’t want you to think you have to come clean up my mess when you already do that for everyone else. When you’ve already done that for me all semester.”

“It doesn’t feel like a chore to me. I like cleaning up your mess. Like the one you leave all over my fingers.”

She bursts into laughter, and everything feels right again. “Actually, I’m pretty sure you makemeclean it off your fingers.”

I love when she’s like this, open and carefree, like she finally knows she can joke without being judged. Before, she used to hold back, censor herself, like saying the wrong thing might drag her old reputation out of hiding.

“You know, there’s this Japanese word my mom used to say to Kiyomi. She’d say watching her grow felt like enjoyinghanami. It means watching flowers blossom. That’s how I see you.”

She smiles so wide, I feel it imprint in my mind. Then, as if she’s just now noticed them, Scarlett stands and points to the flowers I left on the couch. I bring them to her. Sunflowers. Peonies. Lilies. And finally, the one that caught my eye, dahlias. Black dahlias.

I feel like a kid who picked a dandelion from the playground and is giving it to their crush.

“You got me flowers?” she asks.

I scratch the back of my head when she takes them from my hand, smelling each one with a sort of excitement that makes me wonder if she’s ever been given flowers before.

“I didn’t know which was your favorite—I should, though—but I was told these are good choices. But even when I got those, I kept coming back to this one,” I tell her, pointing to the dahlia. “The florist said there’s no true black dahlia, that they range in color and make up an illusion of darkness.”

“It’s really pretty.”

“It is,” I say. “That’s how I see you, Scar. Your tattoos, your hair, and what you show other people. It’s like an illusion, but I see right through it, so clearly. I always have.”

“I think you’re the only one who’s wanted to, Kian.” She places a hand on my shoulder and leans forward to kiss me. I let her do the work, loving the way she’s straining just to get this one thing from me. Like she’s just as desperate as I’ve been to hear her voice all day.

“Are you making me work for it?” she mumbles against my mouth. “Because my neck is hurting and I really want to kiss you properly.”

I laugh, still not moving.

“Come on, Kian. I have a goodbye kiss to make up for.”

When I finally lean in, wrapping an arm around her waist, lifting her up, and crushing the flowers between our chests, she giggles into my mouth. I realize I’ve never heard that before, and that there’s so much about her I still want to learn. To study her.

I let her control the kiss, tasting me in whatever way she needs. She lips and sucks and bites until I’ve got her pressed against the closest wall. I’m hard, keeping her high on my waist so she doesn’t feel how turned on I am already. I don’t want her to think I’m here for that. I just want to cherish her in any way she lets me.

My hands fall tight around her, pressing her to me so tightly she pulls back on a breathless moan. “Shut the door.”

“What?”

She points behind us to her dorm door, wide open, people passing by in the hallway. They’ve got a clear view of us. “I thought you needed to study?”

“Yeah, I need to brush up on anatomy.”

“But you’re not taking anatomy.” Just as the words leave my mouth she presses her hips into mine, hard. She gives me a look that makes me think I’m stupid.

Oh. Oh, right. Yeah, I’m definitely stupid. With her still hanging on, I close the door. The moment it’s shut, she’s kissing me again, deepening it and leaving zero room for air. I stumble and place my hand on her spine before her back is pressed against the door.

“You smell so good,” I whisper. She smiles against my lips, and I suck on her tongue. “And you taste even better.”

“Take me to bed,” she whispers. “Now.”