Chapter 21
Twenty-One
BECKS
When I knock lightly on Haven’s door, her soft voice answers from the other side, telling me to come in.
I step into her room to find her facing away from me, her hair still damp from a shower and hanging in loose waves, leaving a wet spot on her back.
She doesn’t turn until the door clicks shut behind me, her eyes going a little wide when she spots me standing in her space.
She must have been expecting someone else.
“Is now a bad time?” I ask, careful to pay attention to any micro-expressions that she doesn’t want me here.
A lot happened tonight, so she may want space, but it’s also why I felt compelled to check on her.
Locklyn has had far more time to come to terms with the fact that her sister is still alive. I’m sure their first meeting stirred up complicated feelings for her, but she has Talon.
For Haven, all this is fresher, more raw.
Then there was the other thing that happened tonight. The one that involved me.
We crossed a line tonight, and I don’t know how Haven feels about that.
I thought I read the signals right—the lingering looks, the way she blushes when I tease her, the smile she gives me when I walk into a room.
But maybe I was wrong. Maybe she was just caught up in the moment and doesn’t want anything to change between us.
That would be hard. Because it’s already changed for me. The more time I spend with her, the harder it is not to want more.
The timing sucks, but I’ve been dreaming about her lips for days. Tasting them only makes me want more.
More of her.
One taste and now I’m hooked.
If she only wants to be friends, I’m not sure I’ll be able to do it this time. I may have plenty of experience in that role, but with Haven, something tells me there’s no going back.
Glancing at me shyly, Haven tucks a damp strand behind her ear. My own hair has long since dried from when she splashed me earlier, but the sight of hers brings the moment rushing back.
I clear my throat, trying to shake off the sudden urge, the sudden need, to capture her mouth again.
“No. It’s good,” she says, and my distracted brain can’t make sense of her words.
“Huh?”
A smile appears on her face, her dimples popping out. “You asked if now was a bad time.”
“Oh, right.” Reaching up, I pull at the back of my neck. “I just wanted to check on you,” I say, getting to the point. “You know, after meeting Locklyn and all.”
“Oh, that,” she says, and as I study her face I notice her smile doesn’t feel genuine anymore. She shrugs. “Yeah, I’m great.”
I tilt my head, unconvinced. “You sure about that? Because that sounded like the kind of ‘Yeah, I’m great’ people say when they’re not.”
Her gaze flicks away, down to her hands knotted in her lap.
“It’s just weird,” she admits quietly. “I mean, I spent my whole life thinking that my twin had been murdered, and hiding from the people who killed her, and now—boom—there she is. My twin. And she’s amazing and strong and already has all these people who love her.
” Her voice trails off. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to fit into that. ”
I lean back against the closed door, arms crossing loosely over my chest. “You don’t have to figure that out tonight. Take your time. The whole ‘long-lost sister’ thing doesn’t come with a manual.”
That earns me a small, crooked smile. “I guess you’re right.”
“I usually am,” I say, with a smirk to lighten the mood.
She rolls her eyes, but there’s a soft laugh buried in it.
We fall quiet for a beat, the kind of silence that doesn’t feel awkward but charged, thick with the things we’re not saying.
I shift, searching for a way to steer the conversation. “That’s not the only thing I wanted to check on you about.”
Her eyebrows lift. “No?”
I take a breath, searching for the right words. “Earlier, when we were outside . . .”
Understanding flashes over her face, but she doesn’t say anything.
A hint of a smile tugs at my lips. “You dumped water on my head, I almost threw you in the snow, and then . . .” I trail off deliberately, giving her a look that says the rest.
Her cheeks flush. “Right. That.”
“Yeah,” I say, my voice low, teasing but sincere. “I realize we crossed a line, and I just want to make sure it didn’t freak you out or make you uncomfortable.”
She shakes her head quickly. “No, it’s not that. I just—” She exhales a laugh, her gaze dropping. “I wasn’t expecting it, that’s all.”
“Fair,” I say, stepping a little closer, the corner of my mouth curving. “For the record, I didn’t plan on it either.”
Her eyes lift to meet mine. “Really?”
I shrug. “You just looked up at me like that, and suddenly the snow and the cold and everything else kind of disappeared.” I let out a quiet laugh. “Probably not the best timing though. You know, with everything else going on.”
Something soft flickers in her eyes. “Well,” she says quietly, “I didn’t hate it.”
I can work with that.
“Didn’t hate it? Hmm, that doesn’t do much for my ego.”
She laughs under her breath, light but a little nervous. “Fine,” she says, meeting my gaze. “I liked it.”
That’s all it takes, just those three words, and something inside me tightens.
For a second, the world seems to still.
I take slow steps toward her, testing the space, the tension stretching thin. “Good,” I say, voice low. “Because I’ve been thinking about it ever since.”
Her breath hitches, and I let a slow grin tug at my mouth.
“Still,” I add, tilting my head, “if ‘liked it’ is the best I can get, maybe I should try again. See if I can raise the score.”
Her lips part slightly, her pulse fluttering at the base of her throat. “Do you think you can?” she asks, a challenge hidden in her tone that makes something hot spark in my chest.
For a heartbeat, neither of us move.
But because I can’t help myself, I reach out, brushing a damp strand of hair away from her face and tucking it gently behind her ear. My fingers linger, tracing the soft curve before I let go. A small shiver runs through her, and the sight of it nearly undoes me.
The air feels charged, alive.
I take one more step closer, close enough that her breath fans across my skin, and murmur, “Careful, Haven. I might start thinking you want me to.”
Her lips curve in the faintest smile. “Maybe I do.”
I didn’t come here for this, but that’s all the invitation I need.
Reaching up, my fingers brush her jaw, my thumb tracing the corner of her mouth. She draws in a sharp breath, her eyes flicking to my lips and then back to mine, and that’s it, the last sliver of restraint I had disappears.
The distance between us shrinks to nothing as I lean in, slow enough to give her time to pull away, but she doesn’t. Her eyes flutter closed, her breath catching just before our lips meet.
The first touch is soft, tentative, testing, slower, yet somehow even more passionate than the charged kiss we shared in the snow.
She tastes exactly the way I remember: sweet, intoxicating, and far too easy to lose myself in. Her lips part beneath mine, soft and yielding, and I capture her bottom lip gently between my teeth.
The small gasp she lets out undoes me.
I take advantage of the opening, sliding my tongue against hers in a slow, deliberate tease that pulls a shiver through both of us.
The kiss deepens until thought slips away entirely. Her fingers trail from my shoulders down my chest, bunching the fabric of my shirt in her fists. When she tugs lightly, I break the kiss just long enough to help her pull it over my head and toss it aside.
Her palms flatten against my bare chest, tentative at first, then surer, tracing the heat that’s already burning between us.
The contact sends a jolt through me, every nerve sparking alive. I draw in a shaky breath, catching her waist and pulling her closer until there’s no space left at all.
We stumble a few steps back, still kissing, until the back of my legs hit the bed. The momentum takes us both down in a rush of warmth and tangled limbs, her laugh muffled against my mouth before it melts into another kiss, hungrier this time, impossible to stop.
Then the spark between us flares, and the kiss deepens.
For a heartbeat, the world is nothing but the press of her and the quiet thrum of want between us—until a knock sounds on the door, sharp and sudden.
“Honey?” Haven’s mom calls from the hallway.
We break apart instantly, both of us breathless.
The doorknob rattles, and before I can even move, Haven blurts, “Don’t come in! I’m naked!”
I almost choke on my tongue when the words leave her mouth.
Haven winces, eyes wide in horror as she realizes what she just said, but mercifully, the door clicks shut again.
I blow out a shaky breath, pulse still racing.
Haven scrambles off me. Sliding off the bed after her, I rake a hand through my hair, searching for my shirt.
I hadn’t meant for things to go that far, but damn if it didn’t feel inevitable. There’s something about her that pulls me in, something sweet and unguarded that makes it impossible to think straight.
Not that I have time to think about any of that now.
Haven rushes to the mirror, babbling something to her mom about needing a second to throw on clothes. She slips on the rug, crashing into the dresser with a thud.
“Are you okay?” her mom calls, and the doorknob turns again.
“I’m fine! Just slipped! Give me a minute!”
I find my shirt, thrown in the corner, and pull it on.
Looking in the mirror, Haven fixes her hair as best as possible and makes sure her clothes aren’t askew as her mom talks to her through the door, saying something about wanting to talk to her about having just met Locklyn, but I’m not paying attention.
There’s only one exit, and her mom is on the other side. It’s not like I can just go sauntering out after Haven announced that she was naked. I’m too big to hide in the small closet or under the bed, and there’s nowhere else to hide.