hapter 47
*Jiselle*
For a moment, there was nothing but stillness.
My lips were still pressed against his. My hands trembled at my sides. His breath mingled with mine in that tiny pause between before and after–before I kissed him, and after everything changed.
I meant to pull away. Truly, I did.
But then he moved.
His lips claimed mine like they’d been waiting for this moment all his life. Like something in him had finally snapped, and there was no going back.
I gasped, and that was all the invitation he needed.
His hands were on me before I could think–firm, sure, one cupping the back of my neck, the other gripping my waist as he pulled me into him. His mouth moved over mine with a raw, desperate urgency, his tongue brushing mine, sending a jolt of heat straight down my spine.
And I melted.
I hated how easy it was. Hated how my body didn’t hesitate like my mind did. How it surged forward, met him with equal force, like it had been waiting too. Like every touch before this had been a rehearsal and now we were finally at opening night.
My fingers curled into the soft cotton of his joggers. I whimpered into his mouth, and he groaned–deep and guttural- before lifting me effortlessly into his arms.
My legs wrapped around his waist without thought. Instinct. Pure, helpless instinct.
He turned, carrying me with one fluid step until my back hit the wall with a soft thud. The contrast of cool stone against my spine and his heat pressed to my front sent another pulse of fire through me.
His hands skimmed down my sides, tracing the curves of my waist, the dip of my hips, before sliding beneath the hem of my blouse. I gasped as his fingers made contact with bare skin, hot and reverent like he couldn’t believe I was real.
“Nate,” I whispered against his mouth, breathless.
He pulled back just enough to rest his forehead against mine, our noses brushing.
“Tell me to stop,” he rasped. “And I will.”
I didn’t.
Couldn’t
He kissed me again–rougher this time, more demanding–and I let him, because this wasn’t gentle. This wasn’t careful. This was us. This was fury and longing and years of tension all combusting into this single moment.
His lips moved down my neck, slow and sinful, teeth grazing my pulse. I shuddered, clenching my thighs tighter around him as his tongue soothed the sting.
“You shouldn’t be doing this,” I breathed.
“I know,” he muttered against my collarbone, his voice thick. “But I’ve waited too damn long.”
His fingers slid up my stomach, pushing the hoodie and shirt up, up–until they were bunched beneath my arms. He broke the kiss just long enough to tug them over my head and toss them aside. The cold air kissed my bare skin, followed instantly by the heat of his mouth.
My back arched as his lips closed around my breast, his tongue swirling around my nipple, slow and sensual. I moaned, unable to stop myself, my fingers tangling in his damp hair as he moved to the other one.
Every kiss. Every flick. Every scrape of his teeth was branding me from the inside out.
This was wrong
So wrong
And yet I’d never felt more alive.
I
“You’re so beautiful Just like I remembered or Successfully unlocked! tween kisses, and the sincerity in his voice
nearly broke me. “You have no idea what you d.
I bit my lip, blinking through the haze of want. “You’re not supposed to do this”
“I know, he murmured again, then kissed down my ribs, along my stomach, until i was trembling in his hands. “But I can’t help it.”
Chapter 47
My body was a traitor. Every nerve lit up like lightning beneath his touch. My mind screamed Max’s name, but my mouth only managed one thing-
He groaned again, dragging his mouth back up my torso, reclaiming my lips in a kiss so deep I forgot my name. My arms wrapped tighter around his neck. Our hearts pounded in sync, wild and desperate.
“I hate this,” I gasped between kisses. “I hate that I want this”
“You think I don’t?” he bit out, resting his forehead against mine again. His hands cupped my face. “You think I don’t know exactly how wrong this is?”
“Then why-”
“Because I need to l
o know, Jiselle,” he breathed, eyes searching mine. “I need to know what it’s like to kiss you when you want it. When you’re not running. When you’re not looking at someone else.”
That wrecked me.
I didn’t answer.
I just kissed him again.
Slower this time. Less fire, more burn. A deep, aching kiss that held everything we couldn’t say. His hands trembled now. He knew this had to end. And so did I.
But neither of us stopped,
We kissed like the world was ending.
We kissed like it already had.
My feet hit the floor when he finally set me down, but I was unsteady, my entire body humming with the aftershocks of something I couldn’t name. He looked at me like he was afraid to breathe too loudly, like one word might send me spiraling. And maybe it would.
Because the guilt slammed into me just as fast as the kiss had
I took a step back.
Then another.
“I started, but nothing came out.
My blouse. Where was my blouse?
I grabbed it off the floor, fumbling as I slipped it over my head with shaking fingers. My lips still tingled. My chest heaved. Nate didn’t say anything. He just watched me, his jaw tight, his eyes unreadable.
“I have to go.” I whispered.
He nodded once.
I turned and rushed for the door, yanking it open and stepping into the hall like the shadows might reach out and swallow me whole.
e wall.
The moment I turned the corner, I leaned back against the
My knees buckled.
My hand flew to my lips.
And I just stood there, chest rising and falling like I’d run a damn marathon.
What the hell did I just do?
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