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“Jesus Christ.” I fought the instinct to pull away from her, her breathless laughter too sweet to resist.

Just when I thought she’d given up on teasing me, she pushed me onto my back and climbed over me. Her thighs parted, and she lowered herself onto my groin, her warmth seeping through the thin layers separating us.

Our laughter faded, and neither of us moved at first.

As she sat over me, her face close to mine, our breaths intertwining, I lifted my head and kissed her.

Twenty-Three

ava

When Luke gripped my hips and pressed me down against him, everything inside me calmed.

My thoughts were usually loud. Questions and worries. Plans. For the first time in a while, I felt safe enough to stop thinking.

My hand curved behind his neck, where his muscles were already tense. I didn’t want him relaxed and unfazed tonight. No more clenched jaws or patience.

I kissed him again, and when his hold on my waist tightened, a sigh moved through me.

His other hand slipped under the hem of my t-shirt, stroking my bare skin with the lightest touch. I shivered and rocked my hips against him, his low groan stirring the same reaction his grunts did whenever we were fighting for our lives outside.

We stayed like that for long minutes, kissing and teasing, until I finally pulled back and tucked my hair behind my ear. “It feels weird being in Sadie’s bed.”

“It didn’t look like she’d been here in a while.” Luke cupped my neck and tried to bring me close again.

I tugged on his lower lip with my teeth, smiling at his quick intake of breath. “You think she was at Theo’s?”

“I think… I can’t think.”

That made two of us. I pressed down a little harder against him. “Are you sufficiently warmed up now?”

He almost closed his eyes. “Are you worried I’ll pull a muscle?”

I laughed, surprised by how happy I could feel after what had happened in the car park. With the moon washing the room in grey light, I took in the lines around Luke’s eyes and the thick stubble covering his jaw. My humour faded, and I dragged in a breath.

How could he mean so much to me after such a short time?

“You’ve been looking at me like that a lot,” he said, his voice rough around the edges.

“Like what?”

“You think I’m going to die, and you’re trying to memorise me.”

“Maybe I am.” I combed my fingers through his hair, easing it back from his forehead. He had a bruise there I hadn’t noticed before. “We never know what’s going to happen from one hour to the next.”

He ran his fingertips over the dark splotch coming to the surface on my upper arm. “It’s safe to assume I’m not going anywhere tonight.”

“I know—and thank God, because I’ve got plans for you.” I straightened and dragged my t-shirt over my head, wincing at the twinge in my shoulder.

Before the material had even dropped to the floor, he was pulling me back against him. “Good,” he said, his mouth close to mine. “I need your hands on me.”

Heat surged inside me, and I kissed him hard, grinding my hips against him until the space between us disappeared.

Luke made the sweetest laugh-groan sound, as if he wasn’t sure he could handle me, then his mouth left mine. He clutched me tight, trailing his tongue from the base of my throat to my jaw, cutting off my moan as he captured my lips again.

I lost track of time. Seconds might have passed. Minutes. All I could focus on were his shifting muscles and the rasp of his stubble against my skin.

When he rolled me onto my back and straddled my waist, our eyes locked in the moonlight. I took my time stripping off the bralette I’d scavenged in the department store with Kirby, dangling the thin strap from my finger. As it landed on the floor, I swept my hands over my breasts and arched my back a little just to torture him.