Page 8 of Tony

When I round the corner to the back of the house I bump right into her.

“You asshole,” she growls, taking a step back. There’s a little bit of light from the porch above us, just enough to see her eyes blazing. “I knew that was you.”

“Relax,” I say, taking a step back as well.

“Relax? Why are you stalking me?”

“Stalking you?” I laugh. “I’m not stalking you.”

She puts her hands on her hips and lifts her chin up. “Really? Then what the hell are you doing here, Tony? Not exactly your neighborhood.”

I could make something up. Or just tell her the half-truth. That I’m here checking on the witnesses because there’s something amiss and it might affect the secret missions I run down in Key West with my brother.

But I take too long to decide and she moves on. “We’re over,” she says.

“Yup,” I agree. “We are.”

“So leave.”

“Fine.”

But I don’t move. And neither does she.

“Well?” she growls. “What are you waiting for?”

My eyes lock with hers. Could I walk away at this point? I’d like to think so. But then things would just get worse. I could become truly obsessed instead of marginally possessed. “Better to just get it over with.”

“What?” she snaps.

My hand comes up almost of its own accord. I take two steps forward and it slides right up against her bare throat, my palm fitting there against the soft skin of her neck like that’s where it belongs. I feel her swallow and take a breath.

But she doesn’t move. She says nothing.

I lean in and kiss her.

She doesn’t kiss me back. Not right away. But I don’t give up easily. I nip her lip and press my palm against her throat a little harder. She gasps and her mouth opens. I slip my tongue in, expecting her to bite it. That’s typically her next move.

But she doesn’t do that either. Her lips go soft and then they press against mine, kissing me back.

And then I’m pushing her up against the side of the garage, my body angling in to trap her there, my knee between her legs. Her hands come up to my shoulders, gripping them tight enough for me to feel the dig of her nails through my hoodie.

And we kiss. And this kiss is pure lust. It’s forceful, and heated, and filled with memories of all the times we’ve done this before.

I’m immediately hard. Ready to take this to the next step.

Not take her upstairs. Fuck that. I’m gonna do her right here. Outside. Her back pressed up against the splintering wood of this dilapidated garage.

But her fingertips grip my shoulders even tighter and then she pushes me back, dragging the back of her hand across her lips, glaring at me. “Fuck you, Tony.”

“Let’s do it.” I go back in and kiss her again.

But this time, she does not kiss me back.

This time she whispers one word. Barely audible. “Stop.”

I take a deep breath that sounds more like a growl than a sigh and step back. “You know you want it.”

She sets her jaw and shakes her head. “Nope. I’m not getting involved with you again. I’m so over it. I’m so over you and this fucking act of yours.”