Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 138844 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138844 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
How would he react?
Before I knew it, my feet were carrying me a few steps closer, and it made my pulse skyrocket. Adrenaline bolted through me next, and I registered the faint snick of him placing his watch next to his cuff links.
I came up right behind him as he tilted his head just enough to throw a glance over his shoulder, and he tensed up a bit. A beat later, he turned around to face me and furrowed his brow.
I could act right away, or I could wait until he asked me what the fuck I was doing, and then I wouldn’t know what to say. Or what might happen after. So fuck it. I didn’t want another second to tick by. I closed the distance between us, slipped my hands along his neck and jaw, and leaned in and covered his mouth with mine.
A shock of lust nearly bowled me over, though it was almost squashed by his hands coming to my sides. In a way that left me torn. Either he was going to push me away, or…he was undecided.
I kissed him harder and cupped the back of his neck, and that seemed to have an effect. His shoulder lost some tension, and he shuddered and tentatively kissed me back.
I could’ve cried with relief.
In case he planned on putting a stop to things soon, I went a little further. I needed to. I parted my lips and tried to deepen the kiss, and I let one hand drop to the hard planes of his chest.
Jesus Christ.
A violent shiver rolled through me. I started cataloguing fucking everything. The roughness, the muscles, the five-o’clock shadow across his jaw, the perfect blend of soft and firm of his lips…which were suddenly kissing me back with more force. With more wetness, with more passion. Our tongues touched—one, two seductive swipes, and then we didn’t stop.
When he backed me up against the counter of the island, I was fucking done for. There was no going back now that I’d experienced this. No more ignorance is bliss. No more trying to convince myself that I wasn’t missing out on that much.
I’d been missing out on everything.
I cupped his face in my hands to feel the way his stubbly jaw moved, the sharp lines, the contrasts. We made out hungrily, and he finally let his hands roam. He hugged me to him. He squeezed my ass.
I groaned into the kiss and—
“Wait,” he said, completely out of breath. “Hold on a minute, KC.”
“Why?” That was the last thing I wanted to do.
“Oh, I can think of a hundred reasons.” He pulled away from me, only his upper body, and grabbed my jaw. “Do you need another complication in your life?”
“Depends. Are you my complication?”
He rolled his eyes and let me go altogether, and I noticed he had to adjust himself in his pants. Fuck, I’d made him hard? I hadn’t thought that far, only that I’d gotten turned on as hell, so… Yup, I had to adjust myself too.
That was hot.
“I’m the least complicated part of your life,” he told me. “You, on the other hand… However we twist this, you’re gonna find a way to be ashamed tomorrow.”
That one snapped me out of my haze.
“Some men check out another man’s ass, and that’s how you know,” he said. “Some men are subtle checking out another man’s ass, then walk around feeling like shit the rest of the day, and that’s how I’ve known you’re gay. I’ve known for ten fucking years, KC.”
Fuck my life.
I drew a breath and scrubbed a hand over my mouth and jaw.
Lucian wasn’t done. “I’m not leaving your side, but I won’t put myself in a situation where you might leave mine because you’re afraid of your parents.”
I clenched my jaw and vaguely registered that the light wasn’t on in the microwave. Christ, I hadn’t even heard it ding, I’d been so wrapped up in Lucian.
He sighed. “I know Noa isn’t the only reason you’re gonna go back to Christine.”
He just fucking knew everything, didn’t he?
“You’re starting to come off as a know-it-all, buddy,” I said.
He smirked to himself and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. “And here comes the mighty deflector.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“You’re too drunk for this conversation,” he finished.
“I’m too sober to put up with your bullshit. You’re way more pleasant when we kiss.”
He sent me a sideways smile, and it was as beautiful as it was infuriating.
“It was a good kiss,” he agreed.
Present day
The day before our vacation started, I took the day off from work, finished my workout before everyone woke up, showered, had some coffee, and returned to bed.
Noa and I had spent the night in Lucian and Cam’s room after a semi-depressed evening, and I wasn’t done soaking up their warmth. More often than not, I just needed us all in the same bed. Noa did too, particularly now. One night of nightmares about us losing Lucian, followed by a day of moping around because of what Christine had caused.