Page 9 of Crossed Lines

When we finally pull apart, our breaths ragged in the silent, dark room, I have to stop myself from swaying forward and chasing his lips.Focus, Luke.I clear my throat and try to blink the stars from my eyes.

A large hand roams soothingly over my back. It’s the only reason I don’t protest when Spencer presses another kiss to my cheek.

“Good?” His voice is husky and deep, rumbling through me like an earthquake.

I thumb my lips, tracing over the tender skin. “Life seems pretty unchanged.”

“Admit that you liked it.”

“It wasn’t bad.” I shrug, grateful for the dark room; Spencer can always tell when I’m lying. “Do you kiss all the girls like that?”

“Only the pretty ones.”

My stomach flips. I should step back, untangle our limbs and leave the room. But I can’t. Spencer Hall is a force of nature.

Something about him is magnetic, and I’m a planet fixed on the orbit of his brilliant sun. I want to stay in this quiet limbo space, our lips kissed raw and red, Ke$ha playing in some party that feels very far away from here.

He’s still holding my waist. Like we’re a couple or something and he’s claiming me as his, towering over me like a brick building.

The thought startles me out of my haze like an ice bucket dumped over my head.

What the hell are we doing?

My cock strains against the front of my pants, digging into the fly and making it hard to think. All I know is I need to get the hell home and put this bet behind us.

Shaking my head to clear the fog, I step out of his arms. Cold suffuses me instantly, and I clench my fists to stop myself from swaying into his orbit again.

“Congrats, you won,” I say. “Now let’s go home.”

Spencer is quiet as I fumble for the door handle. Light spills into the room, illuminating his face. Before I disappear back into the party, I glance over my shoulder at him. His eyes glitter like diamonds, sharp enough to cut through my soul.

He looks like how I feel; disheveled and more than a little bit horny. Like he’s thinking of doing it again.

My dick twitches in my pants again and I tear my gaze away from his.

Something’s changed between us, and it feels like fingers branding my skin, setting me on fire from the inside-out.

4

Luke

I can’t stop thinking about the stupid kiss for the rest of the night, and by the time we stumble into our apartment I’m so pent-up I could get off in the shower with him still here, not caring if he heard me.

Spencer shuts the door, completely unaware of the fire eating me alive, and heads for the fridge without turning on the lights.

“Want a beer?” he calls from the kitchen.

Toeing off my sneakers, I make my way through the open-plan living room to the transparent balcony doors. “Okay, but just one.”

“You got it, sweetheart.”

I’m grateful for the fresh night air cooling my heated cheeks. Outside is another world, the sky above dotted with faint stars. The balcony attached to our unit is big enough for a few people, the only decor two rattan porch chairs facing each other in the far corner.

Behind the glass railing, the training pitches spread out like an emerald sea. My boner’s gone down, but the arousal still hums under my skin.

Spencer’s shoulder bumps mine when he slips in beside me and hands over a bottle of Corona. His grin is blinding.Muttering a “thanks”, I try not to shake when taking a swig. Being this close to him is a hazard. He’s not even doing anything and my body is malfunctioning.

A thought pops into my head. I sneak a glance at Spencer through my lashes, heart pounding.

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