Page 64 of Sweet Poison

He had to find Anya and I had to return to my duties, but I didn’t want to leave. I never wanted to let go. As the throes of pleasure ebbed away, I began to notice things I had not until now. First, I registered the delicious warmth of the sun shining down on us. And I started to hear sounds. They were some distance away, but the voices were approaching.

I looked up to him then.

“It's time to head back,” he said.

He found my jeans and opened them up at my feet for me. It was a caring and endearing gesture. After pulling them up, I allowed him to button me up. I watched him the entire time. His eyelashes were so long and lush I wanted to touch them, but that would be too affectionate. He looked up and smiled at me, and my poor little heart skipped several beats.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Do I reek of sex?” I asked anxiously.

He grinned. “Yeah, but it suits you.”

I frowned. “That was not what I wanted to hear.”

“Don’t sweat it, Montana. Claim it. It’s nobody’s business but ours.”

We started to head out when I heard a knock on the door. My heart lurched. What if that was my dad? I was too jittery. I felt like a criminal, and the anxiety felt like it was corroding my bones.

But whoever was outside didn’t insist. Footsteps walked away. I sighed with relief.

“Do you want to leave first?” I whispered my gaze on the door.

“No, you should go first,” he replied. “Unless you want to lock the doors.”

“No, I’ll come back and lock them in a little while.”

“You’re the boss,” he said.

“Okay. See you,” I said and began to turn away from him, but he caught my hand and twirled me around to face him. He slid his hand around the small of my back and kissed me. Bad move because I had just begun to think clearly, but here I was again struggling to be coherent.

My phone began to ring then, and I drew back with confusion and panic. I saw that it was only Pearl.

As I dismissed the call I wondered why she was looking for me. I also noticed that thus far, I’d had two missed calls from my dad, and that was alarming to say the least. One from Kelly and two from Pearl. Now I was certain that our absence had been noticed.

I tried not to feel too panicked though. I had done nothing wrong. Nothing I wouldn’t do again given the same opportunity. If they assumed we were fucking because we disappeared, so be it. After all, it was true.

With one last look at Cole and a tight, awkward smile I headed out, ready to face the worst. The second I unlocked the door and went out, I spotted a very familiar face waiting for me. Pearl was leaning against the wall and leisurely scrolling through her phone. There was no doubt she was aware of what had happened inside because she was looking at me, her head cocked and a look of wonder in her eyes.

“Really?” she asked.

I was nervous but also amused by her disbelief. “Really what?”

She looked at the door I had hastily closed behind me, then she shook her head and walked with me. We didn’t say a word to each other, but just before we joined everyone else, I pulled her aside. As far as I could see there weren’t any pitchforks waiting for us, and everything seemed exactly as I had left it. But I had to be sure there weren’t any devastatingly unpleasant surprises awaiting me.

“Was there … I mean, why were you waiting there?”

“You disappeared,” she said simply.

I nodded. “And.”

She tried to hide a smile. “Cole Swift disappeared as well.”

“Okay.” My heart was pounding.

“If even I noticed this, what do you think about everyone else? Especially all those hyenas who are stalking him.”

Even though it felt as though I’d just returned from another world and lifetime we hadn’t been gone very long. Taking in a deep breath, I released it slowly. “Did anyone hear? Did we draw anybody’s attention?”

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