Page 64 of Winter’s Teeth

His hands on my ankle earlier had wrought a reaction I hadn’t experienced in a long time. Then he turned my entire world upside down in a single moment at the cabin in the woods.

And after that? He stuck around. He held me. He made sure I was okay.

He was buying me a milkshake for goodness’ sake.

I wasn’t sure yet if he was good for me, but I wasn’t sure I really cared.

He glanced over his shoulder while waiting for his order, catching my heated stare a second too late. I jerked my head down, fingers flexing and cheeks flushing.

When I looked back up, he was picking up the Styrofoam cup and grabbing a spoon. No sign in his expression of whether or not he knew I’d been staring.

Hopefully shifters couldn’t read minds, too.

He sat back down on the same side of the booth, our knees brushing with an electric shock that went all the way up to my core. Unable to help myself, I clenched my legs together and watched him spoon a bite of frothy white goodness into his mouth.

His eyes flit to the side, noticing my stare. “You ready for a bite?”

I nodded.

His spoon dipped back in the cup, but as he brought it up, he paused.

My fingers hesitated, about to reach it for myself, but the way he hesitated made me think he was about to feed me himself. Clearly, he was having some sort of intrusive thought, and I wasn’t sure what to expect.

To my total surprise though, he put the spoon straight into his own mouth.

I snorted. “Nice. Now where’s my—”

His lips met mine. Open and hot.

Then his tongue pushed in, and with it came the icy goodness of the milkshake bite he’d stolen.

Shivers broke out all over my body. The stark difference of his hot mouth and the freezing cold ice cream was one of the best feelings of my life, and I wanted—no, needed—more of it.

He pulled away, leaving me utterly breathless. With his eyes dark and focused on my lips, his hand lifted to cup my chin and wipe away the smallest dribble of milkshake left behind by his messy kiss. His thumb brushed slowly against my skin, sending a fresh wave of shivers coursing through me.

As floored as I was, there were two things I knew to be true—the milkshake was good, and his lips were amazing. So, with less caution than I probably should have had, I asked, “Can I have another bite?”

I ought to have felt guilty for indulging something like this. I definitely should have thought it through a little bit more, but I was just so worn out... So sick and tired of feeling nothing but dread for the last few weeks.

I wanted to feel something good.

Fox’s eyes searched mine for a few heartbeats, but I was pretty sure he came to the same conclusion as me when he took another bite before pulling me in again.

I was ready this time, and my mouth parted willingly to him. At the first taste of vanilla, our tongues twining, I wrapped my hands around his neck. My fingers dove into his soft locks of ebony, tugging just enough to make his fingers flex on my waist. Like he was holding back from gripping me tighter. Pulling me closer.

I didn’t want him to hold back though.

I wanted him losing all control, pinning me down in the booth, kissing me ragged—

A throat cleared beside us, driving us apart.

Harold rubbed a finger under his nose, sniffling as he asked, “You guys need a ride somewhere close by?”

I had no breath to answer, but Fox managed to mutter, “Yeah. My family’s cabin is nearby if you don’t mind.”

“No problem. Come on, kids.”

Chapter 28