Dark Heart (Dark Heart 1)

She frowns over her shoulder. “What? When?”

I grin. “Can you not think of any place you might have seen me?”

“No.” She turns to face me, looking amused. I run my fingertip over her pretty lower lip. Her lashes lower like she’s too shy to look at me.

“Think hard, mio angelo.” She was dressed as an angel that night.

I watch as her face transforms in shock. “What! That was you?”

I chuckle, holding my finger over her mouth so she’ll remember we should whisper.

“That was you?” she hisses.

“It was.”

“The one in the bandana?”

I grin.

“Wow, so that was you. Of course it was.”

“Why of course?” I’m holding her, and we’re face to face. Something warm moves through me—something that feels sort of like satisfaction, but it’s heavier and…better.

She shuts her eyes, smiling brightly. “Because I liked him.”

I kiss her cheek. “What did you like about him?”

She closes her eyes again and I hug her closer. “I liked how you seemed non-threatening in the room. I liked your eyes. And I liked how you were when you were behind me, when we hid. You made me feel safe.”

“Good.”

“Did you know I was me?”

“I didn’t. Not until we came back to school. It just hit me once, the other day. Probably because I smelled your perfume that morning.”

“So it was my smell.” She giggles.

“Yeah, I kinda scented you out or whatever.”

“That’s awfully animalistic, Galante.”

I wink. “I’m an animal.”

“I am too,” she whispers, widening her eyes.

She bows her head in mock shame, and I thump her chin. “Think we know who couldn’t even get through kissing without…” I can’t say it, so I just shake my head, grinning into her hair.

“It’s okay.” Her hands smooth my hair back off my forehead. “I love that you liked it.”

“Liked it.” I almost blew again when I was going down on her. Not coming has me hurting right now. Nothing’s ever felt as good as rubbing up against her softness, but I don’t want to sound too intense, so I just say, “It was the best thing I’ve ever felt.” Way better than anything I’ve done with anyone else—not that I’m going to say that.

“Really?” She looks amazed, which makes me laugh. The sound comes out choked. “Uhh…yeah.”

“I felt that way, too.” She tilts her head back, looking into my eyes. “Do you think I’m terrible?” she whispers.

“Because of what we did?”

She nods.

“Hell no.” I kiss her forehead—because I can’t keep my mouth and hands off her. Then I lean my head against hers. “You liked it, right?”

I’m worried. Maybe she regrets it.

“Of course,” she says, and I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.

We’re both quiet, rocked by the boat, and I think this is all someone can ask for. It’s times like this that make the other shit more worth it.

I’m rubbing her hair when her cheek brushes mine. “Let’s never not know each other again,” she says.

I smile, even as my chest and throat ache. “Again? When did it happen before?”

“Maybe in another life.”

I wrap her closer up against me, and she sighs like she’s content, and I feel so good. Really, really good.

Her lips brush the bruise around my eye, and for a second, I can’t breathe.

“You’re a good guy for sure.” Her soft lips feather kisses over my temple. “You know that, don’t you?”

I don’t, but I’m too content to argue, so I shut my eyes, and she kisses them too.

“My sweet Luca.”

I open my eyes and I kiss her mouth, a really hard kiss so she won’t say that. A hard kiss that turns tender because I don’t want to hurt her.

Afterward, when all the air is gone from my lungs and my head is spinning, her fingers stroke into my hair, and she laughs softly. “What time do you think it is?”

I open my eyes. “I don’t know.”

She bites her lip. “I bet my friends left and now no one can find me. Dani has a mobile phone, but I don’t know how I would call her. I left mine at home tonight.”

“I can help you find them.” I kiss her lips lightly.

“Do you think we’ll get caught if we climb out?”

“I bet we’ve been in here about an hour. They’re probably gone.”

“Hmmm. Maybe. I kind of don’t want to leave.” She smiles.

I don’t either, but we need to, so I get up, and I help her up. I smooth her clothes down, and she kisses my chin.

We open the hatch above the bed, and I climb out, then pull Elise onto the deck. A cool breeze wraps around us as we stand there on the boat’s front, looking at the dark, deserted lawn.

She giggles. “That’s a lot of Solo cups.”

I take her hand. “Yeah, I hope Jace has a cleaning crew.”

She snorts. “I wouldn’t bet on that.”

We walk slowly around the house, onto the vast side lawn, where we can see the street through a grove of trees at the end of a long driveway.