Page 27 of Undeniable

“We need to talk about the other night.”

She laughed and stepped from behind a few boxes, walking closer to me. The inside of the shed was even hotter than outside, which meant the heat was stifling. A lone drop of sweat slid down her neck and plunged between her breasts—the same spot where I wanted to be.

“What about the other night? We… kissed. It happened, that’s all.”

It was my turn to laugh. I scrubbed a hand over my mouth and closed the distance between us. Before she had time to retreat, I had my hands hooked at the back of her thighs and lifted her onto the boxes directly behind her.

“James, what—” she began to argue the moment her ass hit the plastic, but I didn’t give her a chance to continue. Instead, I wrapped my hands around the sides of her neck and fitted my mouth over hers.

All arguments ceased and were quickly replaced by a whimper that I felt in my cock. I teased her lips apart with my tongue, but it didn’t take much convincing. She lapped at me the way I did her. Her hands fisted in the front of my shirt and pulled me closer still. I kissed her the way I didn’t have time to the night before—thoroughly and completely.

My hands brushed down her sides and gripped her hips, readying to yank her to the edge of the box so she could grind against me. But she pulled back.

“Wait. Wait!”

Immediately, I let her mouth go, but I didn’t remove my hands.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m continuing what we started the other night.”

“Right here? In my parents’ shed?”

I nodded, and she scoffed. “What do you think is going to happen?”

Her tone made me reassess my approach. I slid my hands back down her thighs until my palms were braced against the muscle. Squeezing once, I took a deep breath and tried not to mince my words.

“I can’t stop thinking about you. About the way you looked that night or the way your lips tasted. The way you felt under my hands.”

Her green eyes softened at my confession. “I can’t stop thinking about it either.” Her voice was soft, barely above a whisper, and I couldn’t help but lean in and brush a small kiss against her lips. I smiled when she once again fisted my shirt and deepened the kiss, even if it was only for a second.

“But we can’t do this, James.”

“Do what?”

“Anything. Starting anything between us would be a horrible idea.”

I brushed my lips over hers again and called it a small victory when she didn’t jerk away. “Explain,” I muttered as I softly bit into her bottom lip. She shivered under my hands and I squeezed her thighs tighter, acknowledging that I felt it too.

“We both leave in July. You’re going to Austin, and I’m heading to Wisconsin. We both know starting college in a long-distance… relationship isn’t a good idea, especially something that would be so new.”

I nodded and made it seem like I was considering her argument, but I had already thought it all through. Knowing someone your entire life paid off. I knew what she would say and what points she would make. Her reasoning was solid, but I knew she wanted this as much as I did. Even if we didn’t know exactly whatthiswas.

“I don’t care.”

Taken aback by my response, she stared up at me. “What do you mean you don’t care? How could you not care?”

“Wouldn’t you rather experience this,” I said and pressed a hand against her chest, “even for a month than go your entire life wondering what it would’ve been like?”

Her breath caught in her throat, and when her eyes widened, I knew I had her. Her eyes bounced between my own, likely looking for any signs that I wasn’t being serious, but she wouldn’t find any.

“For a month?”

I nodded. “We already know we’re on a time limit, so if you want to, we can keep it between the two of us. Hopefully that’ll make it easier when we both have to leave. This summer will be for us.”

Her expression was thoughtful for a moment, and I tucked a stray curl that had fallen loose from her braid behind her ear.

“Is this just a ploy to get in my pants?” she asked. I tossed my head back and laughed at the question, but she smacked my arm. “I’m not kidding because I can’t promise that.”

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