Chapter 14
MACKENZIE
He looked wrecked, sad, and disappointed, as if he was trying to hold himself together.
That only made me smile. His body had felt too good pressed against mine—immense, overwhelming, like he could crush me if he wanted.
And maybe that’s why I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
About him. About how he’d spent seven years just being my best friend, and how, in one kiss, he’d become something entirely different.
Someone I wanted to devour whole. I wanted him to consume me.
I wanted to tear him apart. The Mackenzie I became around him was new to me.
She was powerful. Maybe it was born out of every shadow that had followed me, every secret I carried.
Perhaps it was because Max wasn’t afraid of the parts of me that were dark.
He fucking craved every single part I hid. He could handle me.
I hadn’t sketched a single thing since arriving at camp.
My sketchbook used to be my only escape, the only way to breathe free from the ghosts of my father and the violence woven into my blood.
But Max had devoured every part of me, body and soul.
He forced me to stop fleeing and ignited a desire to play with the fire rather than hide from it.
The dining hall was buzzing with its usual chaos when we entered: trays clattered, campers shouted, and a small speaker blared summer tunes. But all I could feel was him. Max sat close, so close our legs brushed under the table, and every nerve ending in my body ignited.
I was still raw from the cabin. I was wet. Wound up. Hungry.
Jackson sat rigidly across the room, glaring at us with a feral intensity, as if swallowing shards of glass. His tray remained untouched, his jaw clenched in silent rage. Max leaned in closer, his voice a tense whisper.
“You hanging in there?”
“I’m fine,” I said roughly.
Max’s hand slid onto my knee under the table. Electricity shot up my thigh, hot and fast, pooling low in my stomach. I licked my lips without thinking.
How could my body react so quickly to his touch?
Max froze, like he felt it too. His jaw clenched, and his hand flexed just slightly on my knee.
“Are we still faking?” he murmured, voice strained. “‘Cause this doesn’t feel like pretend anymore.”
I bit back a laugh, biting the inside of my cheek until it hurt.
“Behave,” I whispered, leaning in until my lips almost brushed his ear.
“I can still feel your pussy on my fingers,” he breathed. “I won’t be behaving for a long time.”
I swallowed, my eyes blurring as I nearly went cross-eyed hearing him say that. He offered a small grin, never taking his eyes off mine.
Across from us, Jackson was watching Max’s hand as if he were mentally calculating how to break every bone in his body. I smiled sweetly, tilting my chin toward Max, and casually plucked a piece of bread right off his tray.
Max’s brow arched. “What’s with you stealing my food today?”
“We’re dating,” I said casually, loud enough for Jackson to hear every word. “What’s yours is mine.”
“You want the rest?” His voice lowered, smooth as velvet, but with a hint of edge underneath. “I’ll feed you.”
I grimaced. “Ew. No.”
“Too much?” He murmured, but his gaze had already dropped to my lips.
“Way too much,” I whispered back, leaning so close my mouth barely brushed his. The heat between us crackled. That ghost of a touch set him off. His hands clamped down on my waist, possessively, and I gasped before I could stop myself.
“Don’t blow up on me,” I teased. “Just kiss me.”
Max’s eyes darkened. His pupils swallowed the color. His thumb brushed my bottom lip as if claiming it. He tilted his chin down and kissed me. It was brief, rough, with his tongue flicking against mine for only a heartbeat before he pulled away.
It was too quick.
He was trying to regain control, but I could feel the storm beneath his kiss.
He kept me pinned in place, chest rising hard, eyes locked on mine. His stare was dangerous, starving. I told myself it was just lust, but the way he looked at me made me wonder.
Jackson’s chair screeched sharply across the floor as he shot a venomous glare, muttering something about air before storming out with a wild, unhinged look.
Max didn’t flinch. He didn’t even glance at Jackson. His eyes never left mine.
I tore my gaze away, my skin burning. “You think he bought it?”
Max’s brow furrowed, as if confused, then he looked toward where Jackson had been sitting, a resigned expression crossing his face.
He leaned back, shaking his head, a nervous smile spreading across his face as I saw his nerves beating in his throat.
His pulse hammered so loudly I almost felt it beneath my skin.
“Yeah,” he said roughly, his voice trembling. “He bought it.”
I watched him carefully. This was supposed to be pretend, but every time we looked at each other, I forgot which side of the lie we were on.
I cleared my throat.
“You should eat,” I murmured, my eyes flicking to his trembling hands. “You’re shaking.”
MAX
Holy Mother of God. She was going to be the absolute death of me. I’d never been this nervous over a girl, let alone Mackenzie. Her kisses—God. Every kiss was straight out of my fantasies.
When we returned to the cabin, she passed out almost immediately, like she hadn’t just detonated my entire world with a single touch.
I lay awake, stiff on the top bunk, staring at the ceiling.
My chest ached with the weight of what we were becoming.
I couldn’t stop replaying what had happened earlier. I wanted to finish it.
The cabin was silent except for the creak of wood and the occasional rustle of bodies asleep. Her nightlight cast her sleeping shadow on the wall, a halo I couldn’t ignore.
I ran a hand down my face. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t think, not with the scent of her shampoo and the ghost of her lips still burning a mark into my psyche.
Every inch of me was tight. When I looked down at her curled beneath the blanket, dozing in my t-shirt, one bare shoulder exposed to the air. A restlessness rippled through me. I couldn’t stay up here anymore thinking about it.
I needed her. Her phone hadn’t stopped vibrating since I left the dining hall, a constant shrill echo in the quiet of the night. I unlocked my own, the blue glow illuminating my face, revealing the encrypted files I couldn't afford to ignore.
JACKSON KENSWICK
More staged kisses for me?
Don’t worry. No one is buying it. Just remember—if I can’t have you, no one can.
I shoved my phone beneath my pillow, clutching it tightly. I was going to erase her messages, erase everything she might see. She shouldn’t read those. I had to find a way to get rid of Jackson. He was starting to really piss me off.
I should’ve walked outside or taken a cold shower. Anything but what I was about to do.
Instead, I climbed down. I snatched her phone off the floor, opened it, deleted all her messages, and then looked down at her.
“Trouble,” I whispered.
She stirred immediately, blinking those sleepy eyes up at me.
“I can’t sleep,” I said. “Can I…”
She lifted the blanket without hesitation.
Fuck. Okay.
I slid in beside her, and the world narrowed to her warmth.
There wasn’t room for me. In this tiny ass bunk, we could only have full-body contact.
Her body pressed against mine, her chest rising with every breath, our legs tangling.
My arm found her waist instinctively. I was so tall that my feet were hanging off the bed.
She rubbed her feet against my legs, and I shivered at how cold they were. I squeezed my legs around hers to warm her up.
“Is this okay?” I whispered.
She nodded, eyes fluttering shut for a moment. “Yeah.”
Her sigh rattled through me like a drug. She sounded like she’d been holding her breath all day, and only now she could exhale. She curled tighter against me. Her hand slid over my waist, clutching me like she could fuse us if she pressed hard enough.
Our hips brushed, our mouths hovered, her breath spilling across my lips. I pressed my forehead to hers, breathing her in like oxygen. Like I’d die without her.
Because honestly? I felt like I might.
She didn’t say anything for a long time. The silence stretched, thick with all the things we weren’t brave enough to speak.
I couldn’t stop the thoughts spiraling in my head. I wanted her so badly it hurt. My body screamed for her. I tried to convince myself I was not attracted to her, but the darker part of me, the one that had already decided she was mine, didn’t give a fuck about stopping these feelings.
“You make me feel safe, Max,” she whispered into the dark. She pressed her mouth to the corner of my lips, just a brush, teasing me. It wasn’t enough.
I fucking whimpered. I could feel her laugh against my mouth.
“You want me so bad, don’t you?” She whispered, her breath skimming my skin. She pressed her hips into mine.
My dick got even harder from the movement. If I touched her now, I wouldn’t stop. I couldn’t. I pulled her even closer to me, grinding my hips down on her, rubbing my dick against her leg.
I couldn’t control myself. I felt the liquid heat in my dick from the base of my shaft to the tip, and every touch she gave me made me want to devour her, eat her alive, and consume her.
I had wanted to fuck girls, sure. But not like this. I wanted her so badly that it physically overpowered me. And it wasn’t just the sex. I wanted to be close to her, to know her, to really know her.
Her hand dragged down my chest, stopping just above my boxers. My stomach tightened like she’d reached inside me and pulled something raw.
“I could let you have me. Right here. Right now.”
A sound escaped me as I heard those words fall from her lips. I didn’t recognize it as mine. She was destroying me, unraveling every bit of control I’d tried to hang onto since the second I saw her again.
“This feels anything but friendly,” I whispered. “Are we still just friends, Trouble?”