Wrecked (Dirty Air 3)

“Today, you did it. You didn’t take your pill. Instead, you’re out here with me.” Elena places the snow globe back on the shelf.

She shows me a couple of others. Her passion and happiness about her greatest moments spreads to me. Hanging around her fills me with a warmth equivalent of laying out in the sun.

Gratitude about her vulnerability makes me stupid. “Thanks for sharing this part of you.”

Her eyes wander, not landing anywhere in particular. “I thought you’d choose to go somewhere for your activity. Like I don’t know, do something guyish. I’m surprised you asked to see this collection. It’s tiny.”

“I couldn’t resist the temptation to learn more about your secret.”

“Why?”

My hands tremble at the urge to be honest with her. “Because even though I tell myself daily you don’t need someone as fucked up as me around you, I can’t resist wanting more from you than I should.” Something pushes me to cup her cheek. The same something in me that wan

ts to pull her close and press my lips against hers.

She looks at me with her eyes wide and captivating. “What are you doing?”

“I don’t know.” I lean in closer, taking in a deep breath of her shampoo. I’m addicted to the way her eyes darken as they scan my face before lingering on my lips.

She shuts her eyes as my thumb grazes her cheek. “What happened to no touching? It’s a rule.”

Touching her sparks a gush of possessiveness inside of me.

“Be a rule-breaker with me.” I close the gap between us as one hand goes around her neck, pulling her in. She gasps as our lips touch.

I keep it soft and innocent, unsure how she’ll react. Instead of pushing me away, her fingers grip the fabric of my shirt, tugging me closer.

Our kiss is nothing I’m used to—all sweet and soft. I want to apologize for forgetting our first kiss because I was a drunk arsehole. To apologize for putting her through shit in an effort to keep her far away. It’s a shock to my system when her tongue traces the seam of my mouth before she bites down on my bottom lip. My body reacts like never before, a tingle creeping up my spine.

A growling noise makes its way up my throat. I break away. “So that’s how it’s going to be? I’m trying to be nice here.”

Her eyes have a rare lightness toward me I’ve never seen before. “Who would’ve thought the guy famous for so many naughty things would try to be nice?”

“You’re fucking around with someone who won’t take your taunts lightly.”

“If it’s as light as your kisses, I think I’ll survive.” She presses a palm to her chest and smiles at me.

I shut her up with a punishing kiss. My tongue lashes out against hers, not letting her off easy, wanting to own her. To show her our connection and to make her imagine my tongue in other places. Licking, teasing, taunting. Elena melts into my body, giving into me.

It’s intoxicating, the feel of her against me. She gives as good as she takes. My skin heats with awareness from her running her hands across my straining arms. I must have drunk my weight in alcohol at the club to not remember kissing her. I’d kick myself all over again for making such a stupid decision because this shit is memorable.

Kissing her tastes like the sweetest kind of destruction. She brings my body to life by her touch, a jolt of energy shooting down my body. My dick throbs in my jeans as she runs her tongue along my lower lip. I press my hips into hers, showing her how much I want her. Desire makes my head cloudy.

She breaks away from the kiss before stepping away. Her fingers brush across her swollen lips, drawing my attention toward the damage I caused. “I don’t think that should happen again.”

“Why not?” I step toward her.

She steps back again. “We work together. There’s no need to complicate things.”

“Trust me when I say that kissing you is the least complicated thing about my life right now.”

Her eyes flash with something I recognize as pity. “You’re not in a good place.”

“I’m tired of living like that.” And I’m tired of letting every single day get bogged down by my anxiety.

“I think that’s a great first step, but that doesn’t mean we should do what we just did again.”

“Are you going to act like it never happened?” I fist my hands together.