33. Chapter 33
Elias
Iglanced at Maryn as we stopped at the wall. She was silent, but it wasn’t the judgmental silence that sat with us as we left the facility. Maryn had been more real with me tonight than in any of the weeks since I’d known her.
I was reminded of her mother, performing for her alcoholic father.
Maryn had learned to hold the emotion inside early.
Tonight, she had finally let down some of her walls.
Her gloved elbow sat on the edge of the door as she rested her chin on her fist, staring out the window. Her cheeks had long dried, and calm had settled over her.
When she’d run, I was certain she didn’t trust me. That she never would. But she’d come back without any encouragement from me, trusting me to do better than my father; I swore to myself in that moment that I would.
For her.
My mother’s words came back to me. “It’s a good thing men like you exist to fix it.”
We pulled to a stop outside the Rite house. I slid from my seat, coming around to open her door. She let me help her out, and a buzzing started in my chest.
Her fingers laced through mine as we moved up the steps, stopping at her door. She turned, gazing up at me—I didn’t think anyone had ever looked at me with so much adoration.
I leaned toward her, brushing a strand of hair back from her face. My thumb grazed her cheek and I stilled. Her eyes dropped to my mouth.
She lifted onto her toes.
My hand slid around to cup the back of her head as our lips met. Hers were warm, soft, and they parted for me. My tongue slid between her teeth, and her body pressed closer. Her heart beat against my chest.
Gloved fingers slid into my hair as she coiled my locks around them, and I deepened the kiss, lost in her honey scent.
I could live in this moment forever. In her soft tugs on my hair and the way she clung to me as we devoured one another.
Too soon, I loosened the hold, untangling my fingers from her hair.
I tasted her one last time before sealing our night with a final chaste press of my lips to hers.
Her eyes fluttered open, her lips red and swollen.
I leaned toward her, drawn in by the hungry look on her face.
Her mouth found mine once more, and desire stirred in my belly.
I broke the second kiss, backing up—one step, then another.
Seeming to remember herself, she cleared her throat, cheeks flaming as she wrapped her arms across her chest.
“I…”
I smiled. “Good night, Maryn.”
She rubbed her hands up and down her arms and nodded. “Good night.”
She turned, pressing a hand to the handle and twisting before she glanced back, a soft smile tilting her lips at the corners.
When her door clicked shut, I returned to my car and drove home, thoughts of Maryn and our first real kiss burned into my mind.