CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
JAMES
I wake up to Sarah laughing beside me. Her crutches are leaning against the side of the bed. It’s been a week since she twisted her ankle, and I’ve kept her in our room with me every single day. All mine.
Our bed’s still warm from last night, and the whole room smells like the flowers she’s crazy about. She’s decked the whole place out, trying to turn it into a garden or something. But all I can think about is leaving her scent and mine tangled in every corner of this room.
I lean in, sliding my hand over her bare stomach, hoping to get her attention, maybe steal a kiss, but she’s too far gone in her book, lost in her own world, giggling as if I’m not even in the room.
Oh no, that won’t do.
“What’s so funny in there?” I ask, snatching the book from her hands.
“James! What are you doing? Give it back!”
She finally looks up at me, exactly what I was going for.
I jump off the bed and start pacing around with the book, trying to see what made her laugh so much. She’s up in a flash, wobbling on one foot ’cause the other’s still bandaged, reaching out to grab it. I just step back, keeping it out of her reach.
She moves faster than I thought she could with that ankle.
“Come on, give it back already!”
“No way.” I chuckle, keeping my fingers wrapped tight around the book. “I want to see what’s so damn good it made you forget about me.”
She chases me around the room, and I can’t stop laughing. Each time she jumps for the book, I lift it just a little higher.
Her jaw clenches. “Outsider, don’t you dare read this book!”
Her tone’s so serious, it just makes me want to open it even more.
What’s she hiding in here?
I flip it open, and my eyebrows shoot up at the first sentence that catches my eye. “‘She crawls to me and kisses the tip of my dick.’”
I pause and look over at Sarah. Her face is priceless.
Her mouth falls open, and she shoots a quick glance at the door.
“James, keep it down. Someone’s gonna hear you,” she whispers, wide-eyed. The panic in her voice only makes me want to laugh harder.
I decide to read even louder, just to mess with her.
“‘Her tongue slides over my cock—’”
“Oh my God, stop reading!”
Stop? Now I’m curious as hell.
I keep reading, totally sucked in, until Sarah screams in frustration.
“I can’t believe you! You need to stop now!”
I don’t even look her way; I just turn to the next page.
I can hear her pacing around me, the carpet muffling her steps, until there’s a louder thump. Next thing I know, she’s tugging at the book.
I spin around and there she is, standing on the bed, finally as tall as me.
Don’t ask me how she hauled herself up on that bed with just one foot. I have no fucking clue.
“Why the hell are you so freaking strong?” she yells, half annoyed, half in awe, still trying to yank the book away from me.
I jump onto the bed too, eyes locked on her. She’s got that fire in her eyes, her chest rising and falling like she’s ready to go to war for that damn book. And then she licks her lips, just once, without even realizing it.
That’s it.
Something primal flares inside me. I’m already hard for her, and all I can think about is claiming her, over and over again.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” Sarah asks, stepping back.
I snap the book shut and toss it aside.
“Because we can do better than those two,” I say, nodding toward the book.
Her cheeks flush, that deep, irresistible shade of red, just like the cover of the book, and I pull her into my arms. In one motion, I spin us onto the bed, and she lets out this adorable laugh. But I don’t laugh. There’s no playfulness in me now. All I feel is hunger.
I press her into the mattress, leaning on my elbows so I don’t crush her, but I make damn sure she feels me.
Her laughter turns into these soft little gasps, and her hands slide over my bare chest, gentle and warm, driving me completely insane.
I want more. I need more.
Quickly, I start peeling her clothes off, and she lifts her hips to help me. In seconds, she’s lying naked beneath me, and I can’t take my eyes off her.
The flowers she’s scattered around the room are everywhere—sweet, delicate, beautiful. Just like her.
I grab a rose from the nightstand vase and start twirling it like I’ve got all the time in the world.
“You know, these flowers,” I say, brushing the rose lightly over her skin, “they remind me of you. They make everything feel brighter. Kind of like you do… for me.”
I drag the flower along her neck, then trace it across her collarbone and down over her breasts. Her eyes follow the rose, curious as hell. Her lips part slightly, like she’s about to say something, but she doesn’t. She just watches.
“And like you,” I continue, my tone dropping low, “they’re stronger than they look.” The petals trail down her stomach, teasing her, until they’re right there, brushing against the heat between her thighs. “But one little touch… is all it takes to set everything on fire.”
I rub her gently, the petals moving in slow circles over her most sensitive spot. She shivers, her whole body reacting, and I watch the goose bumps ripple across her skin.
“James,” Sarah murmurs, her breath warm and shaky. “This… this wasn’t in the book.”
Her legs shift under me, instinctively searching for more, until she bites her lip.
That lip bite. It kills me. Every. Fucking. Time.
I lick my lips and crash into hers, kissing her deep, with everything I’ve got. My tongue moves against hers, taking, tasting, completely lost in her, while her sweet little moans fill my mind and leave me craving more.
When we finally break apart, my lips still brush hers.
“This isn’t in the book because it’s ours,” I whisper. “Like that night on the roof.” Her eyes flutter open, blazing with heat, and I smirk. “And just like that, you’re going to beg for more.”