Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 109245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Gage tucked it behind him and got into a fight stance.
They were hands only now.
Gage came at him with a powerful, too-fast strike combination that would’ve crumpled most men. The blur of his fists was almost too much for his mind to follow.
Scar blocked the first, absorbed the second strike against his jaw, but intercepted the third by hooking Gage’s forearm. Their arms locked as they stood face-to-face, so close it sent a tremor through Scar that wasn’t fear.
The sparring session had shifted from testing strikes to blurring the line between combat and passion.
“Are you still mad?” Gage asked softly.
The huskiness in Scar’s voice betrayed him. “I’m always mad.”
“At me?”
“Yes.” Scar frowned. “Mad that you smile for him. Furious that you let him touch you.”
“It’s not like that with Adrian.”
Scar narrowed his eyes as doubt crept through him.
Gage lifted his chin. “If I tell you it isn’t like that…why don’t you believe me?”
Scar didn’t have a good answer. It confused him how well Gage could read him without seeing him.
Gage was close enough that Scar could stick his tongue out for a taste of those delicate lips.
“What changed?” Gage murmured. “What made you go from despising me, like you always did back home…to this? Because I’m still me.”
Scar’s answer was blunt, ugly, and embarrassing with truth.
“My attraction to you has always been there. I just didn’t know what to do with it.” He tightened his arm around Gage’s waist. “You were so damn beautiful and innocent, unlike the trash I saw and dealt with every day.”
Drea wasn’t trash, but she just wasn’t him.
“When you showed up…I…I…”
Fuck, this was hard to say, but he had to man-up like Meridian said.
“You what?” Gage breathed.
“…I fucking wanted you. I wanted you so damn bad it literally hurt. I’d denied what I’d craved for too long and then you showed up. But Roz made it clear you were off-limits. And I hated that. But I’ve only ever known one way to deal with not getting what I wanted. I get angry…and destroy anything in my path.”
Gage sighed.
“And trust me when I say…you are not the same.” He gave himself a reward for his honesty and cautiously touched his mouth to Gage’s smooth cheek.
“Why couldn’t you just—”
He closed his mouth over Gage’s to show he was done splaying himself open.
White Ravens
Gage
Scar’s mouth settled on his with a tenderness he hadn’t known Scar possessed.
Gage registered it the way he did everything now, in textures and sensation. Heat first, then pressure, awe…and sensuality.
His blindness didn’t dull the feelings. It made them louder, heightened every nuance.
He was hyperaware of the care Scar used when he touched him. The way his calloused hand slid across his jaw to the back of his neck to draw him closer.
The light scrape of his stubble against his upper lip was stimulating and warm, before he eased his tongue in, slow and careful, turning the kiss into something achingly tender.
He’d never been kissed by a man, and now that he had, a comforting balm spread through his chest, one that both steadied and stimulated him.
He was startled by how intimate it was, how close it put them.
He met Scar’s pace, tasting him, and enjoying the new sensation of affection that began to make him hungry for more.
But the kiss stayed light, almost restrained, as if Scar were testing a boundary he’d never respected before.
Scar’s other hand stayed at his waist, firm but not dominating, a hold that asked him to stay because he wanted to.
Scar could’ve taken, like he said he was used to. But instead, he was touching him as if he knew he wasn’t experienced at this…that he was untouched.
He’d built his life around restraint, saying no to easy hunger and sexual temptations, around believing his flesh didn’t get to lead. But, for Scar, he’d parted his lips on reflex.
Kissing the few girls from his father’s church whom he’d taken on arranged dates couldn’t compare to what he was feeling now. He’d only kissed them because they’d leaned in with expectation, and he didn’t want to make them feel rejected—but he hadn’t desired them.
With one kiss, Scar had him craving and shaken by how right it felt…everywhere.
Scar eased back, but stayed close enough for his breath to ghost over his skin.
“I’ve wanted this,” Scar said, low and reverent. “Longer than I wanna admit.”
“I didn’t think I was allowed to want this.” Gage swallowed, tightening his fingers over Scar’s shoulders. “But I do. I want it.”
Scar exhaled roughly. “Say it again.”
“I want you,” he whispered.
“Tell me what you want.” Scar brushed his lips, so light and warm along his jaw.
“Don’t make me say it,” he moaned.
Scar kissed a line down Gage’s throat before he paused and sucked hard over his pulse.
Oh God.
“Say it,” Scar demanded.
If he opened his mouth, he felt as if everything pooling beneath his belt would burst out in a confession.