Chapter 21 #2
She gives me a sly look. “I’ve been threatening to for a while.”
“I’m an easy target when it comes to you, sweetheart.”
In a flash, she moves out of my reach, glowering at me again. “Don’t call me sweetheart. You have to stop flirting with me.”
“Don’t think I could stop even if I wanted to.”
She groans and points to my face. “See, you’re doing it again. That look.”
I can’t help but smile. “This is just my face.”
“No.” She squeezes her eyes shut for a moment. “It’s not just your face. It’s the way you look at me. I don’t know what it is, but it makes me feel . . .” She cuts herself off.
“Good? Warm? Greedy?” I finish for her. “Because that’s how it feels when I’m looking at you this way. Like I want to hold you close and keep you all to myself. Like I might finally know peace if I press my lips to yours.”
That catches her off guard. She freezes, eyes wide, lips parted.
I step closer. “What did I say after you tried to kiss me? Think about it.” Slowly, I lift my hand to cup her face, thumb at the corner of her mouth, palm spanning her jaw.
“You were only inches away. Your tongue darted out over your lips, and you got this adorable little line between your brows—like you were so focused and intent on what you were about to do.” My thumb slides over her bottom lip.
“I had to stop you, but what did I say?”
Rain patters loudly against the house, and I don’t know where Cathy and Mia are, but I couldn’t care less. The entire world has narrowed to this closet. There’s a buzzing, electric tension gathering in the air between us. Pressing into my skin. Coiling in my muscles.
I see the moment the memory returns. Her eyes spark, twin flames in the dim closet. “Oh,” she whispers.
“What did I say?” I ask again.
Her throat works on a slow swallow. “You said . . . you’ve dreamt of kissing me. Thoroughly and enthusiastically.”
My heart beats faster. “And?”
“And you didn’t want me to regret anything.”
“Right. It was never about not wanting to kiss you. I want you so much it hurts. It consumes me, takes up all the space in my brain. I can’t get away from it, no matter how hard I fucking try.
” I thread my fingertips into her hair. “You’re allowed to be as grumbly about last night as you want to, but I stopped you because it was the right thing to do.
” I shake my head, wondering how we got this so mixed-up.
“And to be completely honest, the crankier you are, the more I want to kiss you.”
She licks her lips. A faint blush rises on her cheeks. “So, this . . . tension . . . you feel it too?”
My free hand folds around her waist, and I step toward her. “Yes. Fuck. All the time. I don’t know how to make it go away.”
Her gaze flickers to my mouth. “Maybe we just try it. See if it helps.”
“Maybe we should.” A deep, warm feeling unfurls in the pit of my stomach. “Fabes, do you still want to kiss me?”
She nods, moving closer.
“I need to hear you say it, sweetheart.” I tilt her chin up to meet my gaze. “Do you want to kiss me? Check yes or no.”
Amusement flickers in her eyes. “Yes. I want to kiss you. If you want—”
I don’t even let her finish that last sentence. Fuck yes, I want.
My lips crash with hers and her shoulders land against the wall, my hand cradling the back of her head.
Whatever tethers were holding us back snap, like we’ve waited long enough for this and can’t stand another second without it.
Her lips part, and when her tongue brushes mine, something bursts inside my chest. I’m charged to full power. Illuminating the closet.
It’s hot and hungry and all-consuming. A swarm of need that steals every bit of my focus. A low hum of satisfaction vibrates between us. She’s so warm, so soft, so pliant in my arms. She grabs a fistful of my shirt, keeping me anchored against her. My fingers pulse on her waist, knit into her hair.
She teases me, I tease back. I push hard, she pushes back.
We meet each other at every beat, like we were perfect for this all along.
Her nails graze my scalp, and I grip her hair, tipping her head so my tongue can dive farther into her mouth.
I want to devour her, leave no space unclaimed.
We’re not quiet at all, greedy grunts and moans traveling between our mouths.
This kiss is a feral thing. A desperate thing.
Her fingers hook into my belt loops, and she pulls my hips to hers. “Fable,” I groan into her lips as she presses herself against where I’m hard for her.
A whimper crawls up her throat. “You said my name,” she whispers, breathless. “Say it again.”
She’s been Fabes since we were kids. It’s a safe space. A boundary I’ve kept between us. But that boundary feels irrelevant with her lips against mine and her fingers tucking under my shirt.
A heartbeat before I say it again, Mia’s voice echoes toward us. “I wonder if they got lost,” she calls, stilted and loud, like she’s purposely trying to get our attention.
Fable pulls back, her laughter twirling around me. I bury my head in her throat, chuckling as quietly as I can. We stay like that for a moment, trying to catch our breaths. Her flowery scent hits something in my brain and relaxes the tension in my body, just like last night.
“One more,” she begs, shoving my shoulders away until she can grab my face again and pull me in for another kiss. It’s slower this time. Leisurely and deep, and I let myself get lost again. I feel the kiss everywhere—aching in my chest, sweeping up my spine.
A throat clears beside us and Fable pushes me away. She lifts her hands in surrender, like she’s been caught stealing government secrets.
Fuck, she looks beautiful. Kiss-bitten lips. Mussed hair. Unbridled lust blazing in her eyes.
“I’ve distracted her as long as I can,” Mia says, crossing her arms at the bedroom doorway. “Think you two can participate now?”
Fable lifts off the wall immediately, combing her fingers through her hair.
I reach for her arm before she leaves the closet. “I’m going to need a moment,” I admit softly. She makes it worse when she dips her chin and stares right at where I’m straining against my jeans. “That’s not helping. Get the hell out of here.” I laugh, nudging her to leave the closet.
When Fable reaches the bedroom door, Mia sighs dramatically. “The things I do for the people I love. Fuck’s sake, Cathy can talk . . .” Her voice trails off as she walks down the hallway.
At the door, Fable turns back my way. There’s a small, secret smile on her lips and pink glowing on her cheeks, and I realize I’m absolutely and irrevocably fucked.