Chapter 10 #2
He stumbles in surprise as I drag him through the crowd and out into the cold night air. We leave their courtyard, stepping into the alleyway, and round the edge of the end-of-terrace house.
In a single second, I’ve released his arm, fingers splaying wide over his chest, pushing him back against the brick wall. The impact knocks the breath from him.
Against the glow of orange that stretches up the alley from the streetlights beyond, his green eyes twinkle, flickering with amusement. His head falls back against the brick, gaze locked on mine.
“Mils,” he breathes. My name on his lips spurs the bolt of warmth within me to mutate into a burst of desire.
“Can you believe this?” I murmur, pointing back towards the house. “A party?”
He grins. “Embrace it whilst you can. They’ll find out about these eventually, I’m sure.”
“I’m sure,” I echo. Slowly, I smile up at him. “It’s been too long.”
His mouth twitches. “It’s been six days.”
I shrug, cocking a brow. “Too long,” I reiterate.
The smirk plays on his lips. “That’s not what you usually say.”
I roll my eyes, forearms resting against his chest, heat seeping through the thin fabric.
“You’re so dramatic,” I murmur, tracing the seam of his shirt with my thumb. “You make it sound like I screw you and vanish for weeks on end.”
His laugh is low and husky. “I just mean,” he says, voice soft, “we’ve never exactly done… regular.”
“I beg to differ,” I murmur, looking at him through my lashes. “What about your birthday week?”
Another chuckle. The warming flutters within grow, spilling through my entire body from the comfort, the familiarity, the need…
My fingers splay wider, and slowly, inch by inch, I slide my left hand down…
His breath catches. The tension between us shifts until it’s tighter than ever before, and a single word could make either of us snap.
“Mils…” Rayden’s voice cracks on my name. “We shouldn’t do this anymore.” But his hands are already on me, caressing my arms so softly—the way he knows I’m weak for—that it tickles. My skin aches for more.
“Why not?” I whisper, leaning in as my right hand grips his shoulder. He was the most popular guy in school, the one that every girl had a crush on, and it’s easy to see why. He’s attractive, with an award-winning smile that’s never failed to make my panties damn near drop.
“You know why,” he manages, although, as my hand hooks around the waistband of his jeans, his voice stutters. “We could get killed. The law—”
“We could get killed on any day of our lives, Ray,” I say, pushing onto tiptoes. Slowly, delicately, I lay a chaste kiss at the base of his neck. He swallows.
Fuck the law. I’m drunk, I’m lonely, I’m desperate, and my husband is a twat.
An image of Zachary scowling flickers through my mind. My jaw locks, tightening as annoyance threatens to douse what Rayden has ignited. I tilt my chin, brushing my nose along his throat, breathing in the faint mix of oak, soap, and beer.
“My husband isn’t like you,” I murmur, fingers sliding up the back of his neck and threading through his hair. My lips find his jaw. “Is… Nina”—the name tastes like dirt—“like me?”
I feel the shift in him immediately. He inhales sharply, and his entire body stiffens. And when the root of his reaction presses hard against my thigh, I smirk.
“Mils—”
“Ray, I know you want me,” I whisper, pulling back just enough to see his face. His breath is shallow. “I want you.” His hands grip my hips, dragging me closer until I can’t tell where I end and he begins. I melt into his body, chasing the desperation that’s been coiled in me for days.
To be needed, to be wanted. To be here. With someone.
My fingers slide to his collar, tugging, and in that moment, any sense of preservation obliterates. I don’t wait for him to speak. I crash my mouth to his.
His warm mouth is rough, his tongue tasting of alcohol. But then—Zac.
Zac’s face is in my mind. The line of his jaw, the fire in his eyes, the husk and lilt of his voice. Everything inside me twists and my knees buckle.
Arms catch me, one curling around my waist to keep me upright. He doesn’t stop, mouth devouring mine until my mind fractures completely and it becomes all-consuming.
I moan out loud as Zachary deepens the kiss, savouring every inch of me—
“Shit, Mils…”
Fuck, it’s Rayden.
Reality slams into me. I stumble back, hand flying to my mouth. I blink hard, the buzz from the alcohol making the world tilt.
Ray reaches out, quickly steadying me.
“You’re drunk,” he says softly. His thumbs press into my hip. “You’re not in the right frame of mind for this.”
He’s right.
I am drunk, and that also means I’m not thinking before I speak. “Hasn’t stopped you before.”
He stills.
The air between us shifts, and instant regret coils in my chest. Rayden’s jaw tightens, and his hands drop from my waist. He leans back against the wall, and for the first time tonight, he doesn’t look at me.
Guilt claws at my chest.
I’m a cruel bitch.
And utterly unfair. The last time we had sex when I was drunk, he was, too. We both wanted it.
“I… Sorry. I didn’t mean that.”