Page 158 of The Run Back Home

We'll curve around a bend, she'll brush her arm against mine—and like I have no control, I'll leap for her.

Which is exactly how I ended up with my hand pressed against bark, pinning Lenny between me and one of the park's biggest oaks.

"What are we doing?" I ask, my words rushed as I lean down to plant a kiss on her neck.

"Running," she breathes.

I pull back just enough to peer down at her and grin. "Are we though?"

Lenny glances up before looking off into the distance, a smirk growing on her face. "Sort of." She yanks me closer, her hands already tucked inside the front pocket of my sweatshirt. "But isn't this better?"

My pulse kicks up even more than before, and my cock twitches slightly between us.

Without thinking, I slip my hands in with hers and grip her wrists, then lift them above her head. "Oh, it's good," I say, pinning them against the trunk of the tree. "But if you're looking for cardio, I can do better than this."

I lift a brow, smirking. Challenging her.

But she doesn't react. Not like I expect at least.

Her eyes darken suddenly, the playfulness that's been there quickly disappearing. It's replaced with something deeper—more intense. A look she's been teetering on the edge of since I first saw her this morning. Since I got back from New York, and she got back from Mage.

"Well, what are you waiting for then?" she asks, her voice soft but thick.

I lean in like that's the easiest question in the world to answer, but when my mouth grazes hers, she doesn't kiss me right away.

She just… looks at me.

Not teasing. Not impatient. But like I'm a puzzle she's trying her best to figure out.

Her gaze crawls up my face, the corners of her mouth moving with it. And when our eyes meet again, something's changed in her.

I know it has.

The gleam there is… new. Or maybe it isn't. Maybe it's just the first time she's letting me see it. Either way, it sparks something in me.

Now we're both staring at each other like these trees and this path—and maybe even the handful of people scattered around the open space behind them—might witness something they shouldn't have the honor of watching.

My grip leaves her wrists, and her arms slowly drop back to her sides. My knuckles fall down her cheek before I even realize I'm doing it. It's stupidly small compared to the way we've been grabbing at each other, but the second the back of my hand touches her skin, the air between us shifts again.

Lenny's eyes sink shut, and she tilts her face toward the contact. Her lids flutter for half a second before she opens them again, and when she does… her expression sends something through my chest that's equally warm and sharp.

Though, I'm not sure why.

"Jace," she says quietly. And I swear even the way she says my name feels different. Like it weighs more.

Like it means more.

So I do the first thing I think to do.

I close the rest of the space between us and kiss her again—slower this time.

Not because I'm trying to be careful or romantic. But because suddenly it feels like rushing it would ruin something I don't understand quite yet.

Our lips stay together, our tongues now rolling gently over each other. And when I pull away, I drag her bottom lip between my teeth ever so slightly—muscle memory.

But it's enough for that fire to spark again.

"Take me home," Lenny says, her tone steady.