Page 99 of Her Dark Angel

Adam and James go on to discuss other details about the drive-in, but I’m no longer listening. The need to have a cigarette between my lips and to feel the burn of nicotine in my lungs is all-consuming. I can’t focus on anything right now.

When the meeting concludes, I all but jump off the couch and rush out of the building to have a fucking goddamn smoke.

As soon as I step foot on the sidewalk, I lean against the building and bring a cherry to my lips. My skin prickles with heat as the sun bares down on my skin, but I welcome the warmth.

A sense of calm washes over me after the first drag. The tension in my shoulders dissipates and my mind clears ever-so-slightly as smoke billows out from between my lips.

Oh yeah, that’s what I fucking needed.

I close my eyes and slow my breathing. This may be the longest I’ve ever gone without smoking and it makes me wonder how people who have been doing this longer than I have go cold turkey.

I know for a fact I wouldn’t last an entire day before I had one between my lips, inhaling the smoke like a goddamn chimney.

“How did I know you would be out here smoking.”

The little devil’s floral scent hits me almost immediately. It’s a smell I’ve come to enjoy over the past couple of months.

My eyes snap open to find Kinsley standing in front of me with her arms folded over her chest. Because she didn’t have any extra clothes with her, I let her borrow my Queen graphic shirt. She has the fabric tucked into the waistband of the black denim skirt she wore to the bar last night. I offered to go out and buy her new shoes to wear, but she didn’t mind wearing the thigh-high boots that make her legs look amazing.

I must admit I also didn’t mind.

I shrug a shoulder and gaze down at her. “I held off long enough. Besides, I needed a little pick me up after that meeting.”

Kinsley snorts and leans against the building beside me. “You’re right, they’re so boring.” She turns to face me, her eyes boring into the side of my face. “I believe you, Nash.”

I raise a brow at her. “Believe me about what?”

She exhales slowly, pressing her back against the building. The sunlight beaming down on her smooth skin reminds me how much I want to feel it beneath my fingertips, revelling in the goosebumps they leave in their wake.

“The scandal… I believe you.”

I turn my body to face her, drinking in the warmth in her ocean eyes. “Good, because I have no intention of ever hurting you, unless you ask me, of course.”

Kinsley bites back a smile. “I know.”

The words hold so much weight to them without her having to elaborate. A mutual understanding, if you will.

“I’m glad we’re finally back on the same page, little devil.”

Kin clears her throat. “So, you’re okay with going to a drive-in?”

I take a hit from the cheery and blow the smoke away before turning to look at her. “As long as you’re okay with me choosing the movie.”

She rolls her eyes playfully. “Fine. Just as long as you promise to keep your hands to yourself.”

I roll my tongue against my cheek, a smirk forming on my lips. “Oh, little devil, I will only touch you if you beg me to. You know I love it when you beg.”

Her cheeks turn a light pink color before she snaps her head forward, refusing to meet my gaze. “I’m not going to beg you for anything.”

“We both know you’re a liar because, by the end of the night, I’ll have you begging for my touch. That’s a promise I’m willing to make.”

34

KINSLEY

“I’ve never been to a drive-in before.”

I twist my body in the passenger seat to face Nash. He’s staring straight ahead at the black screen a few rows of cars ahead of us with one hand gripping the top of the steering wheel, even though we’ve been parked for the past ten minutes.

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