The moment we hit fresh air, I gasp it in, my heart still pounding, my stomach a wobbly mess. “Fuck,” I murmur.
“My thoughts exactly.” Keanen keeps leading me around the back of the house, toward a row of trees nicknamed Senior Row. We brush through the trees, and then we’re alone, just him and me, surrounded by tall oak trees, the leaves just beginning to turn a riot of fall colors, shielding us from view.
“I’m sorry,” I blurt, as soon as we’re safely alone in the wooded hideaway. “I didn’t mean to start a fight between you and your sister—”
“You didn’t,” he cuts me off. “She did that all herself.” He releases me, and I realize we’re standing in a familiar pose. My back is up against a wide tree trunk, the bark pressing gently against the fabric of this dress. He’s standing in front of me, just a few inches away. Far enough I can’t feel the heat from his body, although I want to.
As if reading my mind, he takes a step closer. Closes the distance between us. “You know, I’m not used to being told no,” he says, his voice dropping lower now.
“I could’ve guessed that.” I tilt my head to one side, my eyes holding his. I raise my chin just a little, to show he’s not affecting me.
Even though he is. Every nerve ending in my body is on fire right now.
“Have you changed your mind?” he asks. “Because I haven’t.” He reaches out, tentative. His hands are inches from my waist. He’s so close now that I can feel heat radiating from his body, even through his jeans and his pressed white shirt.
I want to reach for him. Grab him, pull him against me.
Instead, I place one hand square in the center of his chest. I can feel his heartbeat. Slow and steady, whereas mine is a riot of nerves. “I heard a rumor you’ve got a girlfriend,” I say, because I need to know before this goes any further. I don’t mess with men who are taken.
Keanen arches an eyebrow, that smirk of his widening. “Been asking around, about me, have you?”
I scoff. “Hardly. You know you’re all half the girls in this school talk about.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere, Ms. Lake.” He takes another step closer, close enough that his thighs brush mine. His hands fold around my waist, and I suck in a sharp breath, resisting the urge to melt against him. Not until he gives me an answer. He tilts his head to the side, studying my face. “No, I do not have a girlfriend. I’m not like that.” He glances away, something darkening his eyes for a moment. “I had one, last year. It didn’t end well.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” I reply, genuinely meaning it.
But his eyes are back on mine in an instant, hotter than ever. “I’m not. She was the wrong person for me. But you… You’re so different, Missy. From anyone I’ve ever met. The way you work hard for what you want; and don’t let anyone else stand in your way…”
My cheeks flush. “Keanen…”
His hands slide down my hips. Over them. His fingertips toy with the hem of the dress. “I want you,” he breathes. “Tell me I can have you, or I swear I’m going to lose my mind.”
This time, there’s no way I can resist. I arch up against him, my body responding to his touch without my conscious will having anything to say about it. “I’m all yours,” I murmur. That’s all it takes.
His mouth collides with mine. He pushes me back against the tree, his hands hiking up my dress, up past my waist. I’m only wearing a thin thong underneath, and he groans into my mouth as his hands brush over the thin fabric. “God, you’re so fucking sexy,” he murmurs, lips brushing mine as he says it.
Then he bites my lower lip, and I moan against his mouth, my hips bucking up and against his.
At the same time, I slide my hands over his chest to the clasps of his button down shirt. I fumble with the buttons for a moment, and then manage to get a grip, pushing one after the next open, baring more of his chest to me with each one.
He has a perfect fucking body. Sculpted like a Greek statue, all long lean muscles. I trace his pecs, all the way down to his washboard abs, my fingers running over every inch of him.
“Missy…” His breath tickles my cheek, my neck. “I want to devour you.”
At the same time, he reaches up to gently brush my hair back from my neck. Then he kisses his way along my jawline, to that sensitive spot right at the base, below my ear. There, he nips lightly at my skin, just hard enough to make me gasp, to make my hips buck up against his.