Page 114 of Forever Relentless

I felt the control in it, knowing that was the dangerous part. Noah didn’t kiss me like a man losing control. He kissed me like a man who knew exactly how much he was allowing himself to take.

My fingers slid from his shoulders to the back of his neck, my nails grazing the short hair there as I leaned closer. The rumble of approval he made against my mouth sent a pulse of heat straight through me.

God. I could get used to this.

I broke the kiss just long enough to breathe, my lips still brushing his.

“You’re very confident about this whole ‘next time’ thing,” I murmured.

His hand slid from my hair to my waist, tightening just enough to pull me flush against him again, letting me feel him underneath me.

“There’s going to be a next time,” he said softly.

Not said with any arrogance, but a quiet certainty, and my stomach flipped at the sound of it.

Before I could answer, his mouth found mine again — harder this time, deeper, his patience running out. The kiss burned hotter, stealing the breath from my lungs as I clutched his hoodie and kissed him back just as fiercely, my hips rocking over him.

When we finally broke apart again, both of us breathing a little unevenly, I stayed exactly where I was, my forehead resting lightly against his.

Neither of us spoke, and the silence between us felt just as charged as the kiss had been.

“We should go.”

I nodded. I sat back, my head bumping off the roof of my car. “Ow.”

Noah laughed, and I lacked any grace as I clambered back to my seat, my knee knocked the steering wheel, and my hand landed on the horn, blasting the silence.

“So graceful,” he murmured, watching me, straightening his hoodie.

“Shut up.” I fixed my clothes. I knew I was blushing. “Is this going to make things awkward?”

“Why would it make things awkward?” he asked, rubbing his jawline.

“I just kissed you.”

“Yeah? And?”

I waited, but he said nothing else. “We should go back.”

“Sounds good.”

He reached for the door handle. I reached over and stopped him.

“Wait. What do you think is happening when we go back?”

This time, he did look confused. “Your place.”

“No.”

His eyebrow lifted in surprise. “No?”

I shook my head, forcing myself to hold his gaze even though my pulse was still racing from the kiss.

“No,” I repeated, a little steadier this time. “Just because we kissed and that, don’t assume the rest is just . . . I dunno, scheduled.”

Something flickered across his face — surprise, maybe, or the faintest hint of amusement — but he didn’t interrupt.

“I meant what I said,” I went on, brushing my hair back from my face, trying to pull myself together. “I’m not doing the whole horny-in-a-car thing. And I’m definitely not letting you assume what the next step is, like we already agreed.”