Page 93 of A Twisted Arrangement

“I’ll have you know I’m an expert swing pusher.”

“You’re awfully confident.”

It’s the gleam in her eyes that has a giddy playfulness pushing me forward. “Xander told me so.”

I release her, letting the momentum pull her forward, and watch as she tips her head back and the blanket trails like a cape behind her. She laughs without restraint, a clear bell-like sound causing me to chuckle with her. She’s never looked freer than she does now. Like there’s nothing tying her, except for me pushing her higher until her breath catches.

“Okay! Stop,” she cries out, voice light with laughter.

The swing slows to a stop, and she looks up at me with wind-pinkened cheeks. “I never really pictured you as a kid playing with your brothers.”

Curling my fingers around her arms, I help guide her to a stop. “You say that like you think Bash ever gave Damon and I a choice. He could be painfully annoying when he didn’t get what he wanted.”

She laughs again. “They were definitely trouble when they were younger.”

I laugh and wrap my arms around her, lifting her from within the tire and into my arms. “They still are.”

Scarlet’s fingers curl into my shirt, and she takes slow breaths as I sit on the cool grass, positioning her between my legs so her back rests against my chest.

“You’ve been gone for a while.” She doesn’t meet my eyes when she says it, instead looking at where the sun is disappearing behind trees in the distance. Her lack of attention doesn’t hide the way she picks at her nails and her teeth gnaw on her bottom lip.

I entwine our fingers. “You miss me?”

Her weight collapses into me, and she huffs. “I’m bored.”

Nuzzling the curve of her neck, I kiss along her delicate skin. “We can’t have that.”

A shiver rolls through her, and goose bumps rise when I suck her earlobe between my teeth. Blue eyes meet mine through dark lashes as she twists to face me, her chests rising and falling, matching the quick tempo of mine. It’s been hours since I’ve had her in my arms, but it’s felt like torture.

There’s something left unsaid that has me pushing her further instead of lying her down like I want to. “What’s wrong?”

“Am I a hostage?”

It’s like a punch to the stomach. “I’ve never wanted to be your cage.”

“That’s ironic.” She holds her wrists together, miming handcuffs.

“I can see your point. Kidnapping you was a little extreme. I won’t apologize for it though. You were being so fucking stubborn, and I waited a long-ass time. Your father tried to sell your life from beneath you. That pervert tried to marry you off to a man who would have locked you away and only brought you out to show off. Used you as a tool to build connections and display his power. I’ve never wanted to take anything away from you.”

She’s silent for several seconds. “You did take something away. You tookyouaway.”

“I heard you tell Damon that if someone wanted you, they’d be willing to wait. Why do you think I wouldn’t be? I’ve loved you since we were teens. It was hard to step back and give you what you needed, but I’ve always known you’d come back to me. Do you think if I’d admitted I loved you back, then you’d have left? Or would I have become just another cage?”

I lift her so she’s fully facing me, her knees on either side of my hips, and cup her cheeks. “Even as a kid, I knew you were my soul. Letting you fly was the least I could do. But you’re minenow, Little Sparrow, and even though I will spend the rest of my life lifting you up so you can soar, I’m never letting you go again. I’m done waiting.”

She turns into my palm. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“You couldn’t even if you wanted to. Whatever semblance of masochistic patience I clung to evaporated the second I touched you.”

I drop my forehead to hers. “Felt your breath on my skin.”

Our mouths brush. “Felt your lips pressed to mine.”

She opens for me, and I deepen the kiss. “Tasted the sweetness of your tongue.”

My arm bands around her waist as I flip her beneath me and lay her down on the blanket, settling myself between her legs without breaking the kiss. She shivers, and her breath catches in her throat when I push my thumb below her panties and into her wet folds.

She moans, and I brush my lips against her ear.

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