All of you.
Locke:
Maybe.
But I’m the one who likes it too much.
Why does that make my breath stutter? Other than the way I can hear his voice, warm and edged by restraint. Dangerous to my health. This tone isn’t Jace’s easy hunger or Silas’s precision.
Eris:
And you want me to guess who you are?
Locke:
I want you to ask the real question you keep hiding away from.
Eris:
Which is…?
Locke:
Do I want you?
Do we really want you?
I roll my eyes, but heat creeps over my cheeks. Physically, it’s obvious they want me… But outside of sex, doIwant this? My throat tightens at the thought of leaving, so I type before I can overthink it and spiral about a future I can’t yet see.
Eris:
Do you?
The cursor blinks, then stops abruptly.
And the door to my room opens.
Kieran fills the threshold, half his face shadowed by the dark hall. He keeps one hand braced against the frame as if he’s debating whether to step in or walk away. I drag my teeth over my bottom lip as I take in his appearance, from his rumpled shirt to his dark jeans. Hair messy, like he’s dragged his fingers through it too many times since I saw him in the living room.
He doesn’t speak.
I let the app screen fade to black and stand slowly, the shirt I’m wearing sliding against my skin in a soft brush. I fight to hide my smile, but it’s a losing battle.
Energy crackles between us, a tangible static in the air. I turn and walk into the bathroom like it doesn’t matter whether he follows.
It does.
But I’m not ready to unpack thewhyof my feelings.
I leave the door open.
The light clicks on behind me, casting us both in the mirror, catching the possessive look in his brilliant green eyes. His presence shifts the temperature in the bathroom before he ever touches me.
“You already knew it was me,” he says quietly, his lips pulling up at the corner. “Didn’t you?”
I meet his eyes in the reflection. “I suspected.”
He takes a step closer, hands fisted at his sides as we test his restraint. Even with no contact… We’re just barely controlled flames and the consuming heat.
