Chapter Eight
Hudson
She groans as she takes her first bite of her burrito.
We’re sitting at one of the few picnic tables dotted around the small expanse of space that Marco has and I can’t take my eyes off her.
Her eyes close in bliss as she chews the mouthful she’s just taken, another groan leaving her, and I have to subtly adjust my dick.
“You were right, this is sensational.”
Yes, it is, and it has nothing to do with the food.
“It’s my favorite spot to get breakfast. I normally like to get here before the sun rises; it comes up over that ridge there.” I point out to the distance, and her gaze follows my finger. “There’s something incredibly peaceful about watching the day start while most people are still asleep.”
“I’d like to see that,” she murmurs.
“I’ll bring you one day.” We both know that’s not going to happen, though. This is a one-time thing and even that’s one too many.
***
“Thank you for breakfast.” We’ve both finished our burritos and she’s clearing up the wrappers to put in the bin.
“It was my pleasure, sweet pea.”
“Why do you call me that? That’s twice now.”
“Sweet pea?” She nods at me. “Because you smell like them. My mom has them in her garden and you smell just like them.”
“Oh.” The corner of her lip tilts up as she tries not to smile, but I can tell she likes my name for her. So do I. I’ve never had a nickname for someone before, not a girl anyway.
“We should get going.” I don’t want to, but we’re already pushing this. We’re already doing something we shouldn’t be.
“Yeah,” she sighs, taking the helmet from me, and we climb back onto my bike.
The drive back seems to go so much quicker and in no time at all, it feels like we’re minutes away from separating. From pretending this never happened.
She taps my stomach three times, the signal I gave her if she needed me to pull over.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, but you should probably let me off here. We don’t want anyone seeing us together.”
“I wanted to drive you home.”
“And we both know that’s not a good idea.”
“Fuck,” I bark as I pull my helmet off and rest it against my thigh.
I hate this.
“Thank you for this morning.” She slides off my bike and holds the helmet I will now always think of as hers out to me. I regretfully take it.
She leans in and places a soft kiss to my cheek. “Goodbye, Hudson.”
I can’t let her go like this, not when I want so much more.
“If this is all we get, then let’s do it right.” My hands thread through her hair and pull her back to me, my lips stamping over hers.
She gasps and I take my chance to claim her mouth, to possess her, even if it’s only for a short amount of time.
She tastes so fucking good, like the sweetest of apples.
I don’t know if it’s the juice she had with her breakfast or if it’s just her, but whatever it is, I want more of it.
I realize I’ve just made the biggest mistake of my life because this isn’t just a kiss; this is coming home.
She meets every thrust of my tongue with her own, as desperate for this as I am. We’re both groaning, our lips sliding against each other as we kiss with a passion I’ve not felt before. I don’t know how much time passes, but I’m a panting mess when we finally break apart.
“Oh, God,” she gasps as her hands come up to cover her mouth. “I have to go.”
“I won’t apologize for that,” I growl.
“I wouldn’t want you to.” She turns on her heel and jogs away from me. If anyone saw her now, they’d think she was just heading out for her morning exercise. They wouldn’t have a clue that she’s just turned my world upside down with one fucking kiss.
Mia
Mia: I kissed him
Harper: Please tell me you’re talking about some random man
Mia: You know I’m not
Ava: Shit. How?
Mia: Should I worry about what you and River get up to if you’re asking how to kiss?
Ava: MIA
Bella: Stop! This needs a facetime. I can’t do this over messages
My cell rings in my hand and I swipe to accept, the screen quickly filling with all their faces.
“Explain,” Bella demands. She’s become a lot bossier since she’s met Reed.
“I was out jogging and he drove past me.”
“And?” Harper prompts. “You out jogging does not lead to sucking face with your professor.”
“And he drove past and stopped. I don’t think he realized it was me to start with. Next thing we’re on his bike and th—”
“Woah, hold on a minute. He was on a bike?” Ava interrupts.
“Mmhmm,” I hum.
“Well, we’re screwed.” Harpers voice is overly dramatic.
“Do you want to hear what happened or not?”
“Carry on, Mia. They won’t interrupt you again, will you, girls?” Like I said, Bella’s got bossy. Harper and Ava hold their hands up to the screen like they’re doing the scouts promise, something I know neither of them ever attended.
“He took me for breakfast burritos, and we talked for a while. He drove me back, but I got off a couple miles from home; I didn’t need anyone seeing us together. I gave him a peck on the cheek and thanked him for the morning.”
“Oh, okay. That’s not the disaster of a kiss I thought it was going to be.” Bella breathes out a sigh of relief.
“Then he said, ‘If this is all we get, then let’s do it right,’ grabbed my face and gave me the best kiss of my life.”
Silence.
All three of them are staring at the screen in complete silence, mouths hanging open.
“Fuck it. You’ve got to sleep with him.”
“Harper!” Ava gasps.
“What? You’re telling me that after that you wouldn’t want him?”
“No. No, I can’t tell you that. We’d all want him after that.”
“Pipsqueak…” A voice warns down the line and I smirk at the possessiveness in River’s tone.
“Oh, stop it. You know you’re it for me.” They’re perfect for each other, even if they are stepsiblings. There’s obviously something about us girls and forbidden men. “Anyway, as I was saying, yeah, I get it.”
“Exactly. Go get him, Mia. Just be careful and, for fuck’s sake, whatever you do, keep it quiet.”
“I don’t think he’ll be quiet in bed.”
Bella snorts down the line. “That’s not what she meant, and you know it. But let us know just how loud he gets.”
“There’s only one man’s bedroom sounds you need to know about, and he’s right here,” Reed’s voice grumbles down the line.
“Oh shush, you grump.”
“You weren’t calling me a grump this morning. In fact, I seem to remember you calling me a—”
“Bye, girls.” Her portion of the screen goes blank, and we all bust up laughing.
“God, I love those two.” I chuckle down the line. “Okay, thanks for the advice.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to pretend nothing happened.”
“How is that going to work?” Harper frowns at me through the screen.
“Trust me it’ll work. I’ll let you all know how loud I make him scream.”