Page 63 of Unbroken

I stood perfectly still as he fitted his mouth over mine. And that kiss was unlike both the others. It was sweet and soft, but only on the surface. Because beneath it was barely restrained desire and a need to explore that climbed higher the longer we were connected.

A quick brush of our lips suddenly turned carnal, and I was scraping my nails down Devon’s chest as his hands fisted in my hair. Our tongues warred, and it took everything in me to pull away. As much as I didn’t want to and it went against all my instincts, we had to stop.

“Fuck, Blakely,” Devon murmured with one final kiss, and those pleading words were enough to do me in. If he hadn’t stepped back and stopped touching me altogether, I would have suggested we go up to his apartment. Dinner with his family be damned.

“We need to go inside,” I forced myself to say. “Like right now.”

I turned without looking at him, knowing that if I saw him shirtless one more time, I would change my mind. His knowing chuckle was enough confirmation that he knew what I was doing. And I couldn’t keep the smile from splitting my face.

TWENTY-EIGHT

Devon

When we walked inside,my mom was standing at the stovetop and Sydney had disappeared. Blakely immediately jumped into action, helping my mom with whatever she was preparing.

No longer outside, I could smell myself where I stood, so I took the opportunity to excuse myself and go shower. Which was only barely big enough to fit me somewhat comfortably. I had to spin in a tight circle and be cautious of the bottles on the wall to rinse my entire body. And I had to duck down in an awkward position to fit my head underneath the showerhead.

Showering in there wasn’t usually a calming experience, but I found my muscles relaxing and my mind wandering as I stood beneath the steaming spray.

All I could think about was Blakely’s lips and how perfect and plump they felt against mine. The little mewling sounds that escaped them when my tongue slid into her mouth. The way her body felt beneath my hands.

Opening my eyes, I tried to will my heart to beat once again in a steady rhythm, but it was useless. It was sending all the blood in my body to my rapidly hardeningerection. It was angrily red, almost purple, and I balled my hands into fists to keep from touching it.

That kiss was the last thing I expected and the only thing I’d ever wanted.

The reasons I’d kept my breakup a secret felt stupid after what had occurred. My fears seemed childish and irrational. She wasn’t going to disappear again. I knew that, but that didn’t mean my heart was playing along.

With my relationship with Piper between us, I had reason to keep my distance from Blakely and act aloof. I could guard myself from the heartbreak if the worst did happen again. But without Piper, there was nothing between me and facing the feelings I’d kept hidden for so long.

Plain and simple: I couldn’t stay away. Given every opportunity, I wanted to be near her. I could have let Amanda comfort Blakely in that hospital hallway, but I’d gone. I had to be the one to make sure she was all right.

I didn’t have to bring her dinner to her apartment either or stay for a movie. But I did because fighting it was fucking impossible.

Leave it to Blakely to decimate those walls I’d carefully built around my heart. Not to keep anyone out, but to keep those unrequited feelingsin.

Or what I had thought were unrequited feelings until about thirty minutes ago. A feeling I’d never experienced before buzzed through me. I tried to put a name to it, and all I could come up with was giddy excitement.

“Fuck,” I groaned toward the ceiling and ran my hands over my face. One kiss didn’t change anything. People shared a single kiss all the time, and I wasn’t going to let myself begin to hope she wanted more until I knew for sure.

And that was the plan until I stepped back into the house, freshly showered and not smelling like wood and sweat, and saw Blakely laughing and talking with my mom and sister. Hersmile was bright, and she licked something off her finger before she stuck her hands under the sink faucet.

“Perfect timing!” my mom hollered as she set two large pizzas on the center of the kitchen table.

“How long was I in the shower?” I murmured to myself.

“Well, Mom cooked the dough while you two were outside,” Sydney chimed in, sliding into a chair at the table. “You know, while you wereshowingBlakely your workshop.” She smirked, and I widened my eyes at her in warning.

“Sit, sit,” my mom urged me, pointing to the chair next to Sydney. She didn’t move until I sat in the chair and scooted closer to the table. She set a plate down on the table in front of me and patted my shoulder.

She was acting strangely, and the expression on her face made me anxious. I looked over at Sydney and glanced from her to Mom. Understanding my silent question—“did you tell her?”—she shook her head and mimed zipping her lips.

When Mom stepped back into the kitchen, Sydney leaned over and whispered, “She’s Mom. She knows everything. And you two weren’t exactly inconspicuous, dry humping right out in the open.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to tell her to drop it, but Blakely slid into the chair across from me and stole all my attention. She pushed a lock of her black hair behind her ear and turned those stormy, gray eyes on me. My palms itched to reach across the table, but I dug deep within myself and found the will to refrain.

That was how dinner went. The women carried on a seamless and easy conversation, which I added to mostly with grunts and mumbled words every once in a while. I couldn’t pretend like everything was perfectly fine with Blakely sitting across from me. She was beautiful, but the moment I thought of the word, I realized it was wrong. Beautiful wasn’t a strong enough word to describe Blakely. She was breathtaking, stunning, perfect.

Dark hair fell in waves over her shoulders, and her full, pinklips were permanently set in a pout unless she was smiling. Which she seemed to be doing more and more. She’d done her makeup darker, smudging a color that was similar to her hair around her eyes, which made the gray stand out even more.

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