“Fuck,” I growled, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her into my lap. Her legs wrapped around my waist, her hot warmth heating me from the inside out. Her hair came down and covered us like a shield, as if we were in any need of a disguise. I would regret this later, but if she wanted the world to stop spinning for a little while, then that was what I’d give her.
Our lips touched, and I drank her in like I’d never survive without her taste. My mouth coated hers. It moved languidly, sucking and tasting, coaxing her back to life. Her tongue landed on mine, her shaky hands coming up and grabbing my face. Our breathing was in sync, our bodies pressed together, and just like that, the world stopped. Everything stopped. Everything but her and I.
There was no talk of the past.
No intertwining secrets and lies making either of us tremble.
My father wasn’t a thought, and neither was Richard, or the Covens, or gun sales, or Bain. Nothing.
This. This was it.
Fuck regret.
Fuck tomorrow.
This was exactly where I wanted to be. I just needed one last little taste.
My hands moved slowly up her back, untucking her white school blouse from her plaid skirt. Her hot flesh touched the pads of my fingers, and her kiss deepened. Her hands moved to my hair, and she pulled, and I followed. I skimmed up her spine, and goosebumps clung to her skin. Heat shot to my groin as she pressed down, taking her mouth from mine and tipping her chin. My other hand came up, intertwining in her hair as I pushed her back down, taking her mouth. Mine.
“You’re mine,” I whispered against her sweet taste. “Give me everything you have. I’ll take it.”
I pushed my hips up to her warm center, and it was sinful. She gasped, pushing her chest into my face, and my hands quickly left the skin of her back, and I ripped the front of her shirt open and inhaled. Jesus. I wanted her forever. I saw nothing but her. I felt nothing but her. She was my goddamn kryptonite, which was exactly why I needed to let her go.
One last time.
Our eyes caught again, and without even speaking, I knew she was in a different place. A different mindset. The past wasn’t creeping up behind her anymore. She was here, with me, in this place, and I’d make her forget everything.
“This feeling won’t last,” I whispered along her ear, gripping the side of her bare thigh. Her skin was like butter against my palm. “But I’ll give it to you, anyway.”
My mouth landed on her chest, the fabric of her bra inches from my teeth. I wanted to bite her, suck on her nipple, but I was too concerned with her sweet spot. The part of her that I wanted to devour. I gripped the side of her panties, just underneath her hip bone. My finger crooked into its side, and I rubbed at the skin. She withered above me, breathing hard.
“Isaiah.” My name mingled with her breathy moan, and my pupils dilated.
I shoved her legs wider as she hovered over me, my dick so hard it pulsed. I wanted to take her and fuck away all our problems. I wanted to erase the feeling I’d had when I saw my father standing over her. I wanted to erase the surge of jealousy that I’d felt when my friends had their hands on her. She was fucking mine. I knew her better than anyone else in this place.
The very second I grazed her groin and pulled her panties to the side, I knew I had to listen to my friends when this moment was over. Make her hate you. Make her resist you. Make her say no to you. They were right. I wouldn’t be able to deny her a single thing. It was going to have to be up to her.
“Jesus,” I groaned before sucking her lip into mine. She whimpered as I sunk a finger into her. Wetness coated me, and I wanted to watch her come undone. I was drunk on her. A high I’d always be chasing.
“Ah,” she hummed, throwing her head back, still hovering as I pumped in and out. Her little hips moved to their own rhythm, and I sat back and watched with hooded eyes and a parted mouth. Her neck was there for the taking, and my lips begged to suck on the delicate skin. The hickey I’d left a few days ago was hardly there anymore, and I wanted to mark her again.
“Hello?”
Her head snapped down to me as I lurched my head past her. Fucking shit.
I squeezed my eyes shut and wanted to ram my fist into the bookshelf. Fuck. I felt the moment break in half. I felt Gemma clam up before she quickly stood, shoving her untidy shirt back into her skirt. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair a mess. I zeroed in on her puffy lips and regretful eyes. Gemma didn’t want to cave into me, and I could sense that she felt ashamed. She was so determined earlier. So determined to stay angry with me and push me away. And when she broke, she wanted to pick up the pieces herself, yet she let me do it for her. I gave her the fucking permission. I just fucked everything up again.
“We’re back here,” I shot down the aisle, righting my dick in my pants and glancing away from Gemma’s blank face. “Gemma was helping me find a book I needed for my report in World History.”
Gemma slowly walked toward me, her light footsteps making no sound at all. My forehead furrowed as my chest seized. What was she doing? Her arm shot up, just past my head, as she pulled a book down from the shelf. She shoved the dusty thing into my hand and turned around.
I didn’t waste any time following after her to see who’d come to check on things. I knew I’d tipped off Mrs. Fitz last night. I wasn't as elusive as I should have been. Gemma and I were both on a slippery fucking slope that just kept getting slicker.
“Mr. Cunningham. What can we do for you?” My voice was level as I plopped the book down onto our study table, right on top of all our scattered papers and books. I eyed Gemma’s open laptop, and an inkling of suspicion came through.
I darted my eyes down both sides of the library, glancing at the darkened sky through the far window, seeing the flags on top of the roof of St. Mary’s flicker in the wind in the most ominous of ways.
Mr. Cunningham cleared his throat, looking back and forth between Gemma and me. We couldn’t have looked any guiltier than we already did. Her shirt was half-unbuttoned, although tucked back in, and her cheeks were flushed with heat. If Mr. Cunningham did indeed have a dick tucked away in those khaki pants he wore, he would know without a doubt that I’d just had my finger inside her wet, little pussy.
My teeth clamped and ground as I stood and waited for his reply. Gemma was eerily still, face emotionless. I placed my hands on my hips, glancing to the left and right again, looking for a faceless shadow. I hadn’t heard Mr. Cunningham as he came through the door. I’d heard the creak of the floor, and then his voice soon followed. Gemma’s laptop was shut when she’d taken off down the aisle a little while ago. Someone else was here. Someone was always fucking watching. It was Bain, or someone he’d sent, but someone had been here, and that was the nice little reminder I needed to push her away.
Gemma broke through my panicky thoughts, my teeth unclenching at the sound of her sweet voice. “Mr. Cunningham? Did you need something?” Her pink and swollen lips tilted upward, and Mr. Cunningham’s mouth flattened. He sighed, looking back and forth between us once more before landing on her yet again.
“No, dear. I just came to check on you two, to make sure Isaiah was still staying on the straight and narrow.”
I almost choked. I couldn’t have been further away from straight and narrow than this very second. I was still up to my usual bullshit. I was just better at hiding it. Add fucking around with the girl I swore I wouldn’t touch again, and yeah, I was just as bad as before.
“All is well.” Gemma smiled again, but it fell as soon as Mr. Cunningham looked away. The punch to my chest hurt. Before he left through the library door, he turned and glared at me.
“I think it’s time you wrap this up, don’t you think? It’s getting late.” He knew. I kept a hold of his stare, hoping he’d keep his mouth shut. Not that he could really prove anything. Gemma and I were right where we needed to be, and I was damn thankful that I hadn’t gotten an alert that Bain’s car was on the move.
I pulled out my phone when the door slammed, immediately texting Mica and asking if Bain was still in their room. He texted back within seconds, and I was thankful for the distraction. I swore I could feel Gemma’s emotions all the way across the table.