Page 124 of Embrace

A deep, contented sigh leaves my lips just before he dips his head and kisses me again.

Forty-three

Kian

“Shit!”

Scarlett bolts upright, nearly knocking me off the bed as she kicks off the comforter. The morning sun’s bleeding through the cracked curtains, throwing light across the room in streaks.

I blink, still half asleep, watching her trip over her own feet as she searches for her clothes. “What’s happening?” I ask.

Scarlett startles at my voice, staring at her phone. “Sierra just texted that she’s on her way here. She left her parents’ place early.” She yanks a black T-shirt over her head, the hem swallowing her thighs entirely. It takes me a second to notice that it’s my shirt. Before I can point it out, she’s crawling on the floor, frantically searching for something. It’s chaos, her shirt hanging off the corner of her dresser, my hoodie bunched up with her leggings.

I pluck her panties off the pillow and toss them her way. “These might help.”

She catches them midair, flashing me that wild, sleep-creased grin that makes my chest ache, and slipping them on as she hops into her leggings.

“You’re cute when you panic,” I tease, grabbing her waist before she can escape.

Her breath hitches when I tug her into my lap, my mouth brushing the curve of her jaw. I’m half distracted by how her skin tastes like both of us.

She was open last night, letting me in every way, but I could see that same hesitation that hit her yesterday morning creeping in.

She twists, her lips colliding with mine, quick and messy. My hands drift down, fingers skimming the bare skin under her shirt.

“Kian,” she laughs breathlessly. “You’re making this harder.”

“I’m trying to help you relax.”

“What I need is for you to leave before my best friend asks me a million questions. She can’t see us like this.”

“You make it sound so dirty.” I nip her jaw. “You do know we can be together, right? No one would say anything.” But she’s already wriggling free, slipping on her shoes.

“Don’t forget your phone,” she reminds me, ignoring my words completely. There’s a stake that’s been trying to carve through my chest since we’ve been together. Every time she dodges the reality of us being together, it gets a little closer.

“We should probably tell them,” I say, casually taking my phone from the dresser. “I mean, if they weren’t so caught up in each other, I’m pretty sure they would have figured it out by now.”

She doesn’t stop moving.

I sigh, rolling off the bed and catching her frantic movements. “We should tell everyone. About us. Besides, keeping it from Dylan is making my stomach hurt.”

She laughs awkwardly, tucking her hair behind her ear and pausing at the door to peek into the hall. “Take some Pepto-Bismol.”

“I’m serious. I tell him everything, even things he doesn’t want to know,” I say, my voice lower as I step behind her, crowding heragainst the door. My fingers skim her hips, tugging her back against me, and I can feel her breathing shift, her pulse quicken.

“I know, but don’t you like this? Just us. No noise. I don’t want anyone thinking I’m with you for anything other than wanting to be with you. This isn’t just a fling for me.”

“It’s not for me either.” I brush her hair off her shoulder, my mouth so close to her skin I can feel her shiver.

We slip into the empty hall, tiptoeing through the quiet hallway. She leads me to the glass doors. We barely make it outside before I have her pinned against the brick wall, stopping her from running again.

The kiss is rough, making her reciprocate it, all dirty and rushed. Scarlett’s fingers fist my hoodie, and my hand slides down to cup her ass, pulling her flush against me.

“You’re incorrigible,” she breathes through kisses, grinning despite herself.

“You’re irresistible.”

Her skin is warm, and she feels perfect in my hands. I’ve got half a mind to just take her to my car.