The world tilts.
The observatory disappears.
The stars disappear.
The list.
The revenge.
The lies.
All of it.
Gone.
Her fingers thread into my hair, tugging just hard enough to make my pulse slam against my throat. I make a rough sound I don't recognize as my own and pull her closer.
Too close.
Not close enough.
She steps into me and suddenly I'm the one losing ground.
I back her against the railing, my hand sliding to her waist as if I'm terrified she'll disappear if I let go.
Maybe I am.
Maybe that's the problem.
Because the second she melts against me, every plan I've spent years building starts cracking at the foundation.
I deepen the kiss.
Slow this time.
Learning her, remembering her small sighs. I brush my thumb against her jaw and nearly come undone when she sighs against my mouth and tugs on my hair. She tastes exactly like every memory I’ve spent seven years trying to kill.
I pull back just enough to look at her.
Big mistake. Massive actually. Her cheeks are flushed a bright pink, lips swollen, and her eyes, God her eyes, it’s like she’s mirroring exactly how I feel—wrecked.
I rest my forehead against hers and let out a shaky laugh.
“Tell me,” I say roughly. “Tell me this doesn't feel like a disaster.”
“It absolutely feels like a disaster.”
“Good.” I stop her with another kiss and another, then pull back. I’m done. I’m owned.
We break apart briefly, or I come up for air while she tugs my hair and digs her hands in against my scalp. It feels amazing as I press her up against the railing lifting her leg and wrapping it around myself. My hands inch up her skirt until my fingers find her thong, I shove it to the side. I wasn’t going to go this far but I can’t help myself. I need to touch her feel her. She lets out a gasp when I tug the small piece of material free sliding it down her leg and putting it in my pocket. “You won’t need this.”
“Jude,” She moans my name and reaches for my belt while I try to angle her leg better so I can give her what she wants—scratch that, what I want. I can feel her slick heat, so close, one more inch and I can make her feel good, one more slide of my hand.
A throat clears.
We jerk apart.
Axel is standing in the doorway with a half empty champagne glass. “Was just going on a stakeout for a place to hook up. Didn’t the sign say off limits? Pretty sure the sign downstairs said this area was closed."
