Page 127 of Not Your Little Girl Anymore

“I don’t know how you do it.” Alec grabs my hand and swings our arms back and forth as we take a turn down the small trail in the woods.

“What do you mean?”

He shrugs one shoulder. “After everything this morning. Hell, after everything since we met, you’ve held yourself together. Most people wouldn’t be able to do that. They would drown themselves in alcohol, or worse. But you… you’re like a magical superwoman who comes out stronger with each spiral that is thrown at you.”

I laugh. “I could say the same about you.” And it’s true. He starts to shake his head, so I continue, “Being the person to find your parents after an overdose and then having to be forced to live with a bitch that doesn’t like you for some made up assumption… plus holding a solid piece of your heart together to be the one person that your baby sister relies on. I couldn’t imagine feeling the way you had but look at you. You fought through each of those emotions, each trauma that indulged inside of you, and became a musician. I don’t know about you, but I think Alec Sokolov is quite the superhero.”

I’m pretty positive I saw his cheeks blush, but I don’t say anything.

“Can I ask you something?” He stops walking, takes a seat on a large rock, and pats his hand down for me to join him. I am thankful it’s somewhat big enough for both of us.

“You can ask me anything, and I’ll tell you anything.”

He nods, smiling. “How the hell did you know my aunt knew about your father? I mean. She didn’t say anything at all, and you just knew.”

I sigh. It takes me a couple of seconds to give him an answer. “Honestly? I’m not sure, really. Body language, I guess. She held this composure, and I can’t exactly explain how I know or what I saw. It could have been the way her body shifted after each word I spoke. But I was watching her posture the entire time, and I guess it just sort of clicked.”

“And the recording?”

“I took a page out of your book.” I shrug like it’s no big deal.

“Wow.” That’s all he says.

“It’s not that impressive.”

“No, it’s pretty impressive.”

I roll my eyes, looking down at the ground. “OK, fine. I guess I kicked ass back there.”

Something inside of me flicks on. I’ve been so wrapped up in not knowing what to do with my life or knowing what I am meant to do, and this whole time, it’s been sprawled out right in front of me…

It wasn’t until now that I knew exactly what I needed to do…

I know my calling.

“Hey, Alec…” I look at him, not realizing he was staring at me the entire time my mind was wondering. The way his stormy eyes move from my eyes down to my mouth makes me lose my train of thought. My bottom lip appeared between my teeth, and my heart starts to beat faster. A feeling that I’ve grown accustomed to every time he looks at me this way.

He looks at me like he wants to devour me whole.

Alec grips the side of my face possessively, bringing his mouth to mine. He kisses me like I’m the last thing on Earth. The only thing he needs. Like, I’m that one in a million. The taste of him brought a spark between my legs, making my toes curl.

He breaks the kiss. My breath is staggered. “What were you about to say?”

“It doesn’t matter.” I bring my mouth back to his. The kiss is rough. My stomach flutters, and heat floods my body, warming my belly and spreading between my thighs.

He stands, pulling me up with him. His fingers fumble with the button of my pants before he drags them down over my ass.

Is this really happening?

In the woods, nonetheless.

Yes. Yes, I guess it is.

I kick off my flats and my jeans. I’m too aroused to acknowledge that sticks and rocks are on the ground.

Without breaking the kiss, he slides his pants down just enough for his hard cock to fling up, and he sits back down on the rock, pulling me on top of him. I straddle him, adjusting myself so that each of my legs is on the side of the rock.

He groans into my parted mouth, and I eat it up, biting gently on his lip. Breaking the kiss, he peers down my skin, kissing and nibbling along the expanse of my neck.

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