Page 141 of Finding Delaware

There’s a heavy pause where he studies me, but he nods without an answer, so I get up to go outside. The second I step onto the porch and shut the door, a hand grabs mine, yanking me down the front steps. Taylor tugs me around the house, pulling us into a small space between our building and the next before shoving me against the wall, eyes blazing.

And then his mouth crashes into mine.

Our lips clash, his tongue forcing its way inside to sweep around my mouth viciously as if to wipe away any other taste than his own. Vaguely, in the back of my head, I hope that all the soda I drank was enough to cover the shot of vodka from earlier as I kiss him back with just as much fervor. My hands cup the back of his neck, holding him in place while I suck his lip, resisting the urge to bite down until I taste blood as his arms come around me, crushing us together.

He feels so perfect against me, so right. Like every molecule and atom in my body was formed specifically to combine with his, drawing us together magnetically in an explosion of gasps and moans when our hips grind together. For a moment, I’m ready to drag him back inside and kiss him proudly in front of everyone, consequences be damned.

When he rips himself away, I grunt in protest, immediately cold from the absence of his warmth. My arms reach out to pull him back, but he steps quickly out of range, leaning against the opposite wall to cross his arms and scowl at me.

“You know, you’re actually really sexy when you’re pissed off,” I smile, tracing my jaw with a finger while I check him out, which only pisses him off.

“What the hell was that, Huck?” His tone is livid.

With a sigh, my head falls back against the wall. “I didn’t do it, okay? I didn’t kiss him.”

“No, but you wanted to. I saw it in the way you hesitated.”

“I hesitated because of Logan’s comment. It got me all up in my head, and I’m sorry.”

His jaw ticks at the corners. “About us being stepbrothers?”

“Yeah.”

There’s a moment of silence where he watches me closely. “Does that...does it bother you?”

The anger in his voice is gone, replaced by a vulnerability that has me closing the gap between us to place kisses along the side of his face.

“No, I’m not bothered by that, Tay,” I breathe into his skin. “It’s not like we were raised that way. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about how Logan will react.”

“I don’t give a fuck what he thinks.” Taylor’s fists bunch in my shirt, lips pressed to my throat. “Or what anyone thinks.”

“I know. But I do.” Closing my eyes briefly, I pull back to look down into his wide eyes. “I worry what he’ll do if he finds out. If my dad finds out.”

He goes still. “If? Not when?”

“Maybe when. Three months, remember?”

A flash of hurt in his eyes guts me, but it’s gone in an instant as he leans in for a sweltering kiss. “Right. Trial by fire. So far, I think we’re doing great.”

“Great?” Snorting against his lips, I slip my fingers under his tank top to caress his lower back. “Storming off and slamming doors is far from great.”

“You caught me in a weak moment,” he says, burying his face in my chest. “The thought of you kissing someone else makes me angry. I… I’ll try to work on it.”

He would, too, if I asked him.

Grabbing his chin to lift his face, I give him a frown. “What do you mean, you’ll ‘work on it’?”

“Like, if you...” He swallows, throat flexing while his eyes bounce between mine. “If you wanted to...be with Owen, too. I’d try to accept it. I don’t know if I could, but I’d try. For you.”

His brows are pinched, creases forming at the corners of his mouth as if saying those words physically pains him, and my frown deepens.

“Why the hell would I want to do that? I’m yours, remember?”

“Fuck, I don’t know, Huckslee. I’ve never–” Cutting himself off, he licks his lips nervously. “I’ve never been in a relationship like this before.”

“With a man,” I admit for him, which earns me an eye roll in response.

“Yes, obviously, with a man. But, also, like...monogamy.”

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