Chapter 8
Cody
I know it is wrong. A sharp sense of accountability pokes its head into this space between Rain and me, whispering warnings into the back of my mind. But to hell with it.
The raw passion in her kiss consumes everything else. The rhythmic shift of her hips against my good thigh pushes every logical thought out of my head, driving me close to the edge.
“Practice?” I think back to my own stupid excuse, wanting to laugh at how ridiculous it sounds now.
She leans closer, the weight of her touch intensifying the atmosphere until the room feels too small for the both of us. I pull back just enough to see her clearly. Her face is flushed, her expression softened, and her gaze is heavy with an intensity that mirrors my own.
The neckline of her shirt has slipped, revealing her shoulder in the dim light.
She places her palm flat against my chest, her touch light but steady.
She begins to trail soft kisses along my jawline, a teasing gesture that makes the rest of the world fade away.
A sudden wave of contentment washes over me, a quiet warmth that settles into the places that have felt cold for too long.
Her presence brings a sense of stillness I didn't realize I was missing.
Then she shifts, her lips finding the hollow of my neck. She is deliberate, her touch sparking a reaction. She lingers there for a moment, a brief and pointed contact, before pulling back to look at me. Her brown eyes are bright, filled with a playful yet deep affection.
“Practice, you say?”
She suddenly moves, sliding away and standing up.
The abruptness of it leaves me blinking in the sudden quiet.
She stands there for a second, smoothing her clothes with a composure that contrasts sharply with the state she just left me in.
She reaches for her MacBook on the table, sits back down at the far end of the sofa, and opens the screen, diving back into her work as if the last few minutes hadn't happened.
I stare at her, trying to find my voice as my heart rate slowly begins to level out. “Is that it?”
She doesn't look up from the screen, her voice calm and collected. “Yes, that is it, Cody. It is practice, after all.”
I lean back against the cushions, watching the blue light of the screen reflect in her eyes. “When do you say we practice again?”
She pauses her typing, giving me a slow, knowing smile that says more than any words could.
“When you have the guts to begin it yourself.”
I watch her as she returns to her typing. I never expected this kind of boldness from her, this sudden shift in power. A smile tugs at my lips despite the lingering tension.