Chapter 36 #2
I ducked into another hallway, finding a door I’d never taken before. It must’ve been a separate exit. I rushed through and closed it behind me.
Rain poured down from overhead, a shock to my senses. This wasn’t a door to another room of the Colo, I’d blundered to the outside. I whirled around but only the smooth outline of the door greeted me—no handle. Because it was a one-way exit. Of course nobody ever used it.
“Goddammit,” I managed. “I’m a fucking idiot.”
There were ledges across the walls of the arena offering little sections of dry places where the rain didn’t drip on me. I huddled under one, face flaming with embarrassment.
What was I thinking? Denali would abandon his team and run after me?
This was another level of humiliation and astoundingly stupid. To go back inside, I’d have to walk all the way around to the front doors in the pouring rain. Ugh. Perfect.
Before I could start the trek, the door opened.
It was…Denali.
In the glow from the outdoor lights, we stared at each other. Rain dripped on him but he didn’t move. He was breathing hard—it must’ve been from the adrenaline—his jersey was coated in sweat. He still had his gear on. He wasn’t supposed to leave the arena yet.
“What are you doing?” I asked, stunned. “You made it to playoffs—they’re going to be searching for you—you have to go back inside.”
The rain was relentless but Denali didn’t move. His hand propped the door open, allowing a sliver of light across his body. “Do you want me to go?”
The question made my heart pound. I had to convince him to go back inside but the words were sticky on my tongue. I swallowed, shaking my head. “No. I don’t.”
Denali released the door, closing the world off to our conversation. Silent, he walked through the rain until we were both under our dry hideaway, hidden from everybody else.
Water dripped down his face, trailing along his jaw. It was the most fascinating sight as he dipped closer. I could see every bruise beginning to form. I could see his eyelashes, the questions burning in his eyes.
He touched my face, sweeping his thumb along my cheek. His fingers shaky from the adrenaline, cold to the touch.
“You should be inside,” I continued, pulsing racing. “Celebrating the win.”
His voice deepened. “I should be right here.”
His eyes dropped to my mouth, and I could taste his hesitation in the air. There would be no going back from this. And for as much as I’d told Denali to leave, I didn’t want him to go.
Suddenly, I didn’t care about anything else. I wanted Denali.
Fuck the waiting—I wanted him now.
I threw my arms over his neck, yanking him to me, crashing my lips to his, and then—
Then—
Denali captured me in every sense of the word.
He molded his lips to mine in a long, slow kiss that left me lightheaded.
I’d thrown my arms around his neck—didn’t I?
—but when the seconds passed between us, Denali handled me until I found myself in the crook of his arm, held up while he drew longer and longer kisses from me.
I was incoherent, drunk on them while Denali took an unsteady breath, quickly demanding another kiss. My vision was all Denali as he took my face in his hands.
“I missed you so much, baby,” he rasped, pushing me against the wall. His tongue swiped my bottom lip, desperate to taste me.
The longing dripped between us like honey, clinging to us, echoing in his words. He said he missed me with the conviction of a man who’d been scouring the horizons, biding my return.
Like it was inevitable. Like it couldn’t be stopped.
Our kisses were wild. They were too long to breathe properly, but breathing didn’t matter. The way he held me tight mattered. I didn’t care about anything else.
Denali lowered to my neck, kissing my throat before I could comprehend the change of pace. My fingers threaded through his hair, locking him to me as his tongue languished across my skin, leaving fire in his wake.
The door opened again.
Elijah.
My brother glanced over with an incredulous look, and I said nothing. No retorts, no comebacks, no one-liners, the connecting wires in my brain were overwhelmed. Denali kissed my neck so exquisitely, I was stunned into silence.
“What the fuck are you two doing?!” Elijah demanded.
“I’m busy,” Denali growled against my skin.
“Dude, we’re celebrating going to playoffs—stop making out with my sister! Get inside! Everybody’s fucking looking for you!”
Denali ignored him, wrapping a hand around my throat. I had a limited amount of time before I really couldn’t say no to him, and that window was rapidly disappearing. Reluctantly, I pulled away.
His eyes were half-lidded, gazing at me with a hunger that dipped dangerously close to starvation. We’d kissed for so long his lips were swollen. Everything about him was so fucking delicious, I wanted to yank him down to me again.
“You need to go inside,” I said with all the conviction I could muster.
His hands were on my hips, my waist, my back, restless, touching me. “After?”
I nodded. “After.”
“You promise?”
“I swear.”