Page 111 of Falling

“For not pretending I wasn't there.”

“Why would I do that?” he asks, sounding genuinely confused. I shrug. “Have people done that to you before?”

“Not on purpose,” I admit. “I've always felt like I take up too much space because I’m so busy, and people poke fun at how I never have time for them. But when I was with Augustus, it was like he was trying to compete with me. Like he wanted to make me feel small and insignificant to make it easier. Sometimes, he'd just pretend I wasn't there.”

The words fall out of my mouth at a stupid pace, spilling all my secrets like it's nothing. It's definitely the darkness. I don't like oversharing this much, but with Miles, it seems too easy.

What shocks me is that he pulls me into a tight side hug, his strong arm tightening around me, and I fall into him for a second. “I would never do that to you, princess. Ever. You’re way too important to me.”

My heart does a weird flip at his words. “I’mimportant to you?” He nods. “As in,me?The girl who almost bitch-slapped your ex-girlfriend two seconds ago?”

“Yes, Wren,” he whispers, laughing quietly as he presses a kiss to my forehead, “You’re important to me.”

We go backto the hotel in silence, walking past people as they go down to get ready for the countdown in the lounge. We go back to our room, standing outside on the balcony, watching the early fireworks in the sky.

“That was hot,” Miles says, nudging me with his shoulder as we lean against the rail, looking out into the darkness. I turn to him and laugh.

“You’re like a horny teenager. You think everything is hot.”

He smirks. “Only when you do it.”

“Someone needed to get her in line,” I murmur. He turns to me, his left arm resting on the railing. I mirror his position and shudder as I say, “Ihatethat it made me so mad.”

“Can’t you just admit that you wanted to defendme? Thatyou, not my fake girlfriend, butyouwanted to defend me,” Miles says. His serious expression catches me off guard as he closes the space between us.

“What are you talking about?”

“Why can’t you just admit that you want me— like you said at Christmas? That you want me for real. Just as badly as I want you.”

“Miles,” I whisper, a half plea.

He steps closer toward me, our noses grazing as his breath hitches. “Tell me, Wren. Does this feel fake to you?”

I don’t say anything because it’s getting harder to deny the heavy want building inside me. That the past few days have been the most fun I've had in my life. That being with him makes me better. Happy. Whole. And I’ve never felt more alive in my life, and I never want that feeling to stop.

The countdown to New Year's begins outside.

Ten.

“Miles, Ican’twant you. You know that.”

Seven.

“That’s not what I asked. I’m asking you what you feel. What doyouwant, Wren?”

Two.

“I want you,” I whisper.

One.

Fireworks explode beside us as he grabs my face and pulls me into him, catching my lips with his.

Something magical and indescribable happens when our lips meet. I gasp at the suddenness of the kiss, and he uses the opportunity to slide his tongue into my mouth. I can feel myself floating. As if we’re existing outside of this moment. Maybe it’s the alcohol I had earlier or the heat between my legs, but I feel myself slipping away.

He pushes my head back, deepening the kiss as I moan into his mouth at the force of him. He’s not rough, but it’s hard enoughthat it shocks me a little and makes the intensity in my lower stomach build.

When I realize my hands have fallen limp at my sides, I reach up for the nape of his neck, curling my fingers into his hair. The hair that I have not been able to stop thinking about since I ran my fingers through it a few weeks ago. He guides us to the railing and pushes my back against it.

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