Chapter Fourteen #2
A small smile pulls at her mouth. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
“Good.”
I shift beside her, shoulder brushing hers.
“Thing is,” I say, staring toward the shoreline, “I’ve got no bloody clue what to do now.”
“With your feelings for Wolfe?”
“Yeah.”
She follows my gaze.
Wolfe’s still down by the water with his phone held out in front of him. His family called while we were all sitting around the fire, and he wandered off to take it somewhere quieter.
Makes sense. He’s close with them. Proper close. The sort of family who actually ring on birthdays instead of sending a lazy text and calling it a day.
Even from here, I can see the difference in him. The way his shoulders have dropped. The way he’s smiling at the screen like whoever’s on the other end has managed to pull him a thousand miles closer to home.
“I don’t know how to talk to him without making a complete tit of myself,” I admit. “Or saying the wrong thing and making this whole bloody mess worse.”
Echo is quiet for a second.
“Well, you could always start by telling him the truth.”
I glance at her. “That simple, is it?”
“No.” Her smile fades into something softer. “But it’s something he needs to hear. Tell him the truth. That you want him, and you don’t know what the hell any of it means yet, but you don’t regret how you feel or what's gone on between you two.”
I look down toward the water again.
“And if he’s done waiting for me to sort my head out?”
“He isn’t.”
“You can’t know that.”
Echo gives me a look like I’m being deliberately thick. “You’re not the only one who talks to me, Thorne.”
That gets my attention.
She folds her arms. “Wolfe trusts me too, especially about how he feels for you. He’s not done waiting. He’s hurting just as much as you are.”
My chest tightens.
“He said that?”
“Not in those exact words.” She glances toward him. “But close enough.”
I look back at Wolfe.
For all the distance he’s been giving me, maybe it hasn’t been because he stopped wanting this.
Maybe he’s just been trying not to make it worse.
Trying not to push.
Which somehow feels worse.
Echo bumps her shoulder against mine. “So stop making him question what he means to you. He deserves to know the truth.”
I let out a slow breath. “Right.”
“Right.”
Neither of us moves.
She raises a brow. “Any time now.”
“Don’t rush me.”
“Rush you? You’ve been avoiding this for weeks.”
“Exactly. I’ve got a system.”
“Well your system is shit.”
“That’s a bit rude.”
“Doesn’t make it any less true.”
I look back toward Wolfe, then down at Echo beside me.
“Right. But what about us?”
Her face softens. “What about us?”
“Don’t do that.” I turn toward her properly. “You know exactly what I mean.”
She waits.
Bloody typical of a Shaw, making me drag every word out myself.
“I still want you,” I admit. “Draygon, Wolfe, this whole fucking mess—it hasn’t changed that.”
Her gaze stays locked on mine.
“When I found out you’d been talking to Wolfe and Draygon too, I thought that’d kill whatever I felt for you. Figured the whole thing would finally pack up and do one.”
“But it didn’t.”
“No.” I let out a quiet laugh. “Feelings are stubborn little bastards, apparently.”
I rub a hand over my jaw. “The truth is, none of it changed how I feel. I still want you. I still want him. And knowing they want you too doesn’t make it easier, but it doesn’t make me want you less either.”
Echo steps a little closer.
“It’s messy,” I say. “Complicated as fuck. Probably a terrible idea.”
“Life’s messy.”
“Yeah, well, mine’s turned into a right bloody soap opera.”
Her mouth curves.
I look at her for another second, then reach for her.
“And you?” I ask quietly. “You still want me?”
I hook a finger through the belt loop of her denim shorts and tug her into me until there’s barely any space left between us.
She pretends to think about it, eyes drifting over my face. “Hmm. I don’t know. Might need a minute.”
“Taking the piss, are we?”
Her grin gives her away. “Maybe.”
I pull her closer. “Careful, love.”
Her fingers slide up my chest, warm against my skin. “Yeah. I still want you.”
“Even with all the bollocks?”
“All of it.”
Her answer hits me low and hard.
I slide my fingers beneath her chin and tip her face toward mine, kissing her before I can think myself out of it. She meets me without hesitation, one hand locking around the back of my neck as she presses into me.
The kiss turns hungry almost immediately.
My grip tightens at her hip, pulling her closer while her mouth moves against mine like she’s got just as much to prove. It’s heat, teeth, and all the things we should’ve said sooner getting lost between us.
For a few seconds, I forget the beach. The team. Wolfe waiting down by the water.
Then Echo pulls back, breathing harder, her forehead resting against mine.
“Now go talk to Wolfe.”
A rough laugh leaves me. “You’re having a fucking laugh.”
“Nope.”
“You kiss me like that, then send me off to sort out my feelings?”
She steals one more quick kiss. “You needed a push.”
“You’re a menace.”
“And you’re still stalling.”
I glance toward the shoreline again.
Wolfe’s ended his call now and walking along the shoreline.
Echo gives my chest a small shove. “Go.”
“Bossy little thing.” I drag my bottom lip between my teeth, letting my eyes dip over her before meeting hers again.
“Move, Thorne.”
I take a slow step back, still holding her gaze, my hand lingering at her hip like I’m considering ignoring her completely.
“We’re not done here,” I say, voice low.
“I know.”
“Good.”
Her smile turns smug. “Now stop being a wanker and go tell him how you feel.”
I stare at her. “Oi. You did not just call me a bloody wanker after kissing me like that.”
“Oh, I did.” Her grin widens. “Because right now, you’re being one.”
I point at her, still smiling despite myself. “You’re properly taking the piss tonight.”
“Maybe. Doesn’t make me wrong.”
“Absolute cheek of it.”
I finally turn toward the water, then glance back over my shoulder once more, making no effort to hide the fact I’m still looking at her.
Echo catches me and laughs. “Good luck.”
I smirk. “Save that mouth for when I get back, love.”
I lift a hand over my shoulder and flip her off, already knowing she’s doing the exact same thing back without me needing to look.
“Yeah, yeah. Do one.”
Her laugh follows me as I head down the beach.
The firelight falls away behind me, and with every step, my pulse gets a bit more out of hand. I shove my hands into my pockets, like that’ll somehow stop me from looking as nervous as I feel.
I could still turn around, drop back beside the fire, and spend the rest of the night taking the piss out of Revel. Then I could wake up tomorrow with this whole bloody mess exactly where I left it—safe, familiar, and completely fucking cowardly.
Nah. I’ve done enough running.