AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His lips inched dangerously close to mine. “Tell me to stop.”
“Stop,” I said.
“You don’t sound so sure about that,” he goaded. “Tell me to leave.”
“Leave,” I said, knowing my tone didn’t hold much conviction. In my defense, having a hot guy admit he wanted me the way Seren just had was unnerving and over-freaking-whelming. And, I wasn’t immune to his good looks.
His lips quirked. “You sure that’s what you want?”
“Would a knee to the balls convince you?”
He laughed. “It would certainly kill the mood.”
I hated the way the sound of his laughter burrowed its way deep inside my chest since it was the exact opposite of how our interactions usually ended. I wanted to know who the real Seren was. Because the things he’d said made me want to believe there was more to him than I initially thought. “You show me the real Seren, and I’ll consider what you said.” I quickly slipped out from beneath his arms and moved toward the tree trunk. I needed to get down the steps and as far away from him as I could.
“Grace, wait,” he said.
“No, I need to go,” I said before stepping through the trap door and climbing down the plank steps, careful not to miss one. I dashed away from the treehouse and hurried back out onto the path and toward the house.
What the hell just happened in there?
Since arriving at Grayson Manor,Seren had been awful to me. His words. His actions. His disdain for all things me.And, he admitted he’d let the air out of my tires then hated me for blaming him for it.Who did that? But, now I had insight into why he’d acted that way. But did it make it better? Or, did it just prove he was more whacked-out than I initially thought? Yes, he was gorgeous beyond reason. But that’s where the attraction ended for me. There couldn’t be anything worth salvaging because we had nothing.
The sound of Seren’s shoes on the path behind me neared. “Grace!”
Shit.
I considered picking up the pace and ducking into the manor before he could reach me, but I wasn’t a child. I could face my issues head-on. And Seren wasdefinitelyan issue. I stopped and twisted around.
He stopped in front of me, and for a moment I allowed myself to see him in a different light. He wasn’t a cold-hearted guy. He’d lost a father and just dealt with his issues unlike anyone else I knew. But now he’d been honest. Was that enough to make me want to know him?
“What?” I asked.
Instead of responding with words, his lips crashed down on mine. Heat spread over my body, and a tingling I’d never experienced before numbed my lips. He slipped his arms around my hips, pulling me against his rock-hard chest and fitting me against him as if I belonged there. But I didn’t belong there. I pressed my hands to his chest, ready to push him away, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it just yet. He kissed me as if starved for the taste. His tongue slid between my lips and parted them effortlessly. I opened slightly, and we became all tongues and teeth and lips, a perfect collision of hate and heat. It was intoxicating and all-consuming. I felt the kiss everywhere. I feltSereneverywhere. Before I knew what was happening, he pulled away leaving me breathless.
Stunned and a little dazed, I looked to him for an explanation. But instead, a smirk crawled into his cheek. Anger flared inside me, and I shoved him away from me with all my might.
He barely stumbled back and his smirk remained firmly in place.
“You can’t just do that!” I admonished.
“You said to show you the real me.”
“I didn’t mean likethat.” My exasperation was palpable.
Dimples dug into his cheeks. “You should’ve specified.”
I wasn’t sure if I was pissed or relieved that the uptight and normally cold Seren Grayson morphed into someone young and carefree right before my eyes. And, the fact that he was an amazing kisser didn’t hurt either. I shook off the thoughts. “You can’t just take what you want when you want it.”
“Why not?” he asked so casually that I knew he meant it.
“That’s not how it works. You need to earn it. You need to get to know someone.”
He buried his hands casually in his pockets. “That’s what I was trying to do.”
I growled in frustration.
“And so you know, that was only a glimpse of how I really wanted to kiss you, Grace.”
