Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 102929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102929 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 515(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 343(@300wpm)
We were made of moments like these, but nothing past them.
Blaming it on the drugs and alcohol was the only excuse I had. Though I couldn’t ignore that I was the first guy she talked to after years of choosing silence.
It plagued me.
Kept me up at night.
Those nights, I’d play for her…
Fully aware she was there, hand on the wall, listening intently as if it were a deep, dark secret we shared.
It was personal.
Intimate.
Ours.
Julius didn’t play music for her like I did—at least I never heard him—which was interesting, considering every time we played with her in front of a crowd, it was obvious Julius played for no one but her.
The way I fought the longing to explore whatever was happening between us was becoming a daily occurrence. Hence, why I wasn’t home or around her unless she was tutoring me. I thought it’d made things easier. I was dead wrong. The ache for her only became stronger.
More demanding.
A tide that kept dragging me.
Is it to the shore or the depths of the ocean? Why do they feel the same way about me?
This was completely uncharted territory for me.
I couldn’t help but think about my future.
Our future.
Wondering if this kind of future was even in the cards for me.
For us.
I didn’t have too much time to dwell on it before I impulsively admitted, “I’ve missed you.”
Lust was a very funny thing.
The desire.
The attraction.
It was all these chemicals that released the same endorphins, similar to the ones we were experiencing with each other right now.
And still…
It all felt real.
We felt so real.
Drugs and alcohol always made you lose your inhibitions. They just went hand in hand. Unable to resist the temptation that was this girl, I held her face between my hands.
I was thinking all sorts of things.
Good.
Bad.
Naughty.
Feeling all sorts of emotions I had no business entertaining.
“What are you doing here, Kitty?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why are you here? What are you running from?”
“Currently.” She hesitated, whispering, “It should be you.”
I had to know, so I demanded, “Tell me the truth. What happened that led you into that train station that night?”
“Kraven…”
“Does Julius know?”
She shook her head.
“You haven’t told him?”
She shook her head again.
“Why not?”
“Because I’m scared.”
“Of what?”
“Of how he’ll look at me after he knows the truth.”
I allowed her confession to register while holding her gaze.
“And what truth is that?” I questioned once it did.
Silence.
“Isla,” I stressed, down to my last bit of patience when I didn’t have any to begin with. “I need you to trust me.”
Before I could consider the consequences, the future, the fire I’d spark and blow up with one match, I pulled her lips to mine, and she sucked in a breath when I softly pecked her mouth for a second.
“Kraven, what are you doing?” she murmured against my lips.
I swallowed hard.
What am I doing, and why can’t I stop it?
I knew she was thinking the same thing I was. That was how in tune we were. I couldn’t get enough of her, and all we were doing was touching each other’s lips.
We weren’t kissing.
Just caressing.
Exploring.
Searching for something in each other that had always been and would always be there, whether we wanted it to or not.
No matter what.
“You taste like trouble,” I rasped, brushing my lips over hers.
“What are we doing?” she coaxed, placing her hand against my chest.
Not pushing me away.
Not pulling me closer either.
“I thought we were just two old friends catching up.”
“I don’t think old friends do what we’re doing.”
Following the movement of her tongue, I asked, “And what is that exactly?”
“Playing with fire.”
“This isn’t playing with fire,” I warned. “This is.”
With that, I backed her into the wall and wrapped her legs around my waist. Next, I caged her in with my arms on the sides of her head. Having her like this was sensory overload for me.
I breathed her in, and once I couldn’t take it anymore, I growled, gripping her throat to hold her in place.
Away from me.
I stayed quiet until it felt like I was sitting in a jail cell, bled dry.
I let her go. I had to.
Fully aware…
* * *
I was royally fucked.
Chapter
Thirty-Two
Julius
Call it instinct.
Perception.
Madness.
I should have stopped watching the video surveillance of them, but I couldn’t help it.
One second, Marco wouldn’t shut the fuck up, and the next, I thought I saw Isla’s bright red hair coming out of the bathroom. The camera quickly shifted to her walking down the hallway. Even on the security footage, she was stunning and took my breath away.
I was a lucky bastard.
There I sat, admiring the beauty that was Isla, not paying any mind to what Marco was saying. All of a sudden, Kraven appeared out of nowhere, backing her into what appeared to be a secluded corner. I wondered if he did that for my benefit.
I wasn’t an idiot, walking in on them more times than I cared to remember. Their little private conversations always got to me, but it was what it was…