Chapter 5 #2
The smile she’s been wearing most of the night has settled into a straight line as if unwanted thoughts are getting the better of her.
Her eyes slide to mine. “It’s where my dad brings his girlfriends.
” His preclusions might have been a battle she once fought, but judging by the resolve in her tone, she gave up on that fight.
It’s not her job to fix her dad’s mess anyway. I learned that lesson the hard way.
We hold eye contact long enough for one of us to chicken out and look away, but neither of us does. I do blink first, though. “I’m sorry.”
She takes another sip, not leaving much left in the glass, and asks, “Why would you be sorry?”
“Because at some point, you found out your dad is an asshole. Sucks when a kid has that realization dropped in their lap.” I finish my drink, needing to drown the memories threatening to reach the surface of my present-day life.
Lowering her boots to the floor, she sits forward, bringing her closer to me. Not close enough for my liking. A half-hearted smile crosses her lips. “I can handle him cheating, but someone feeling sorry for me is the worst.” It is the worst, and that’s not how I want her to feel when she’s with me.
“C’mere.”
She stands, setting her glass down before easing between my legs and resting her arm over my shoulder. Her smile returns when she looks at me.
Never thought I’d be given the opportunity to stare at the sun without getting burned. But look at me now, basking in her sunshine. I rest my hand on her hip, sliding it higher under the hem of the sweater, but stop at her waist to give a little squeeze and evoke a softer laugh.
She sits on my thigh, perched like a prize I didn’t earn. The sound of her swallowing is barely heard under my own harsh gulp. “Why'd you bring me here, Spark?”
She smiles, running the tips of her nails through the hair over my ears. She slides them to the back of my head, and whispers, "Are you settling on Spark?"
"Seems fitting since everything leads back to the spark we share. The cigarette out back, the sparkler on top of your cake, and let’s be honest, the heat that’s been building between us. It always comes back to fire with you."
“The fire between us.” The exhilaration that brightened her eyes earlier is still there, but the energy has shifted.
She has me craving more than her kiss. I want everything—to kiss, to fuck, to appreciate every inch of her.
She runs a fingertip over my lips while desire clouds her eyes.
As her chest rises with heavier breaths, it falls harder on release and readjusts on my leg.
The relief she seeks, though, isn’t going to be found with us sitting here. "You're not afraid of getting burned?"
I'm already shaking my head, accepting the dangers of playing with fire when she showed up in combat boots, looking fucking gorgeous, and bummed a cigarette. "No risk. No reward. It'll be worth the pain."
“If you’re lucky.”
“Luck has nothing to do with us.” I smile in a failing attempt to lessen the need I have growing inside me. Be a gentleman, Keats. But with her situated right on my dick, she’s making it damn hard. Literally. “We create our own destiny.”
There’s no space left between us when she shifts closer and angles my head back for a better view. Not an ounce of doubt can be found in her features. “So it’s settled then?”
It’s weird how life works. I started the night worried about a grade on a damn paper, but six hours later, I’m staring at the face of someone I know will change my life forever.
I’m suddenly nervous to kiss her. I’ve never been nervous with anyone, but Sosie’s different.
I’m not sure how she broke into my world, but I have a feeling her smile and carefree attitude played a part.
Whatever it was, I’m glad she did. “It was settled the moment we met, Spark.”
I thought I’d seen the stunner of her smiles several times over, but I hadn’t been given the full privilege until now. With her arms linked around my neck, she says, “Tell me something, Poet.”
With deeper feelings, urges, and cravings simmering between us, I try to distract from that. “Anything or something in particular?”
“Anything you want,” she replies, but I knew she’d choose that option before she did. She doesn’t look away. She doesn’t even blink. It’s as if she’ll miss something important if she dares.
With my arms around her waist, I slide my hand to her hip.
She takes a long inhale as if this is what she’s been waiting for all day.
I’m confident we’re heading in the same direction with this relationship, but I don’t kiss her lips.
Not yet. I bend my head to kiss her neck instead.
Just once, so she gets a taste of what’s to come.
I screwed up, though. It wasn’t only a tease for her. Now I want more. Fuck.
Lifting my head, I look into those magnetizing eyes, already weak to this woman. “I think everyone can see your beauty, but only a lucky few get to experience who you are.”
She runs her hand over my cheek, then holds it steady. I close my eyes and lean into her palm. She kisses my temple, daring to do what I wanted and didn’t. When I look at her again, she whispers, “I knew you were a poet, Keats.”
My name scratches at my ears, as if her nickname has already branded itself over my given one. I’d much rather hear her call me Poet.
Her fingers trail from my face when she moves to wrap her arm around me again. “But be careful. If you keep saying things like that, you might find yourself with a pesky girl wanting to steal all your time.”
I chuckle, tightening my hold around her. “She wouldn’t have to steal it. I’d give her every hour, minute, and second of the day if she wanted.”
Leaning forward, she presses her lips to mine. Her lids flutter closed as she breathes me in and then kisses me. Soft and sweet, and over too soon. When she pulls back, I’m given a deeper view of those eyes that hold a myriad of colors.
A green so vibrant, softer than emerald and brighter than a forest of pine trees.
Golds that mirror coins found at the end of a rainbow.
And those lips I had the pleasure of kissing were raging in a deeper pink from our mouths connecting.
With her so close, that look in her eyes urging me to take another taste, I squeeze just enough to dig the tips of my fingers into the plush of her skin and pull her closer.
“Fuck it, who wants to be careful?” I cup her face and kiss her again, deepening it before either of us can catch our breath or the world catches up to us.