I ran a hand down my face. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t think, not with the scent of her shampoo and the ghost of her lips still burning a mark into my psyche.
Every inch of me was tight. When I looked down at her curled beneath the blanket, dozing in my t-shirt, one bare shoulder exposed to the air. A restlessness rippled through me. I couldn’t stay up here anymore thinking about it.
I needed her. Her phone hadn’t stopped vibrating since I left the dining hall, a constant shrill echo in the quiet of the night. I unlocked my own, the blue glow illuminating my face, revealing the encrypted files I couldn't afford to ignore.
JACKSON KENSWICK
More staged kisses for me?
Don’t worry. No one is buying it. Just remember—if I can’t have you, no one can.
I shoved my phone beneath my pillow, clutching it tightly. I was going to erase her messages, erase everything she might see. She shouldn’t read those. I had to find a way to get rid of Jackson. He was starting to really piss me off.
I should’ve walked outside or taken a cold shower. Anything but what I was about to do.
Instead, I climbed down. I snatched her phone off the floor, opened it, deleted all her messages, and then looked down at her.
“Trouble,” I whispered.
She stirred immediately, blinking those sleepy eyes up at me.
“I can’t sleep,” I said. “Can I…”
She lifted the blanket without hesitation.
Fuck. Okay.
I slid in beside her, and the world narrowed to her warmth. There wasn’t room for me. In this tiny ass bunk, we could only have full-body contact. Her body pressed against mine, her chest rising with every breath, our legs tangling. My arm found her waist instinctively. I was so tall that my feet were hanging off the bed.
She rubbed her feet against my legs, and I shivered at how cold they were. I squeezed my legs around hers to warm her up.
“Is this okay?” I whispered.
She nodded, eyes fluttering shut for a moment. “Yeah.”
Her sigh rattled through me like a drug. She sounded like she’d been holding her breath all day, and only now she could exhale. She curled tighter against me. Her hand slid over my waist, clutching me like she could fuse us if she pressed hard enough.
Our hips brushed, our mouths hovered, her breath spilling across my lips. I pressed my forehead to hers, breathing her in like oxygen. Like I’d die without her.
Because honestly? I felt like I might.
She didn’t say anything for a long time. The silence stretched, thick with all the things we weren’t brave enough to speak.
I couldn’t stop the thoughts spiraling in my head. I wanted her so badly it hurt. My body screamed for her. I tried to convince myself I was not attracted to her, but the darker part of me, the one that had already decided she was mine, didn’t give a fuck about stopping these feelings.
“You make me feel safe, Max,” she whispered into the dark. She pressed her mouth to the corner of my lips, just a brush, teasing me. It wasn’t enough.
I fucking whimpered. I could feel her laugh against my mouth.
“You want me so bad, don’t you?” She whispered, her breath skimming my skin. She pressed her hips into mine.
My dick got even harder from the movement. If I touched her now, I wouldn’t stop. I couldn’t. I pulled her even closer to me, grinding my hips down on her, rubbing my dick against her leg.
I couldn’t control myself. I felt the liquid heat in my dick from the base of my shaft to the tip, and every touch she gave me made me want to devour her, eat her alive, and consume her.
I had wanted to fuck girls, sure. But not like this. I wanted her so badly that it physically overpowered me. And it wasn’tjust the sex. I wanted to be close to her, to know her, toreallyknow her.
Her hand dragged down my chest, stopping just above my boxers. My stomach tightened like she’d reached inside me and pulled something raw.
