Page 8 of A Sinner's Saint

Vin’s hand pauses midair, hovering over the button to the lift. Then his gaze turns to mine. “You’re not?”

I shake my head. “Are you?”

“Who?” he asks.

“What?”

“Who have you slept with?”

“Who haveyouslept with?” I fire back at him.

“I’ll give you a list of names if you really want it.” He shrugs.

“I really don’t.” I reach out and press the button myself. “Are we going to stand here talking about our pasts all night or are we going up?”

The doors open and Vin pulls me inside the lift. My back slams against the wall and Vin’s mouth comes down close to mine. “Ask me,” he says.

“Ask you what?”

“Ask me to kiss you, because I really want to fucking kiss you right now. But I need you to ask me first.”

“Vin, kiss me.”

His lips drop to mine as soon as the words are out of my mouth. My hands land on his chest, and he tenses momentarily before he tilts my face up and deepens the kiss. This isn’t the sloppy, hurried kind of kiss I’ve experienced before. It’s slow.The strokes of Vin’s tongue against mine are gentle. Like he’s mapping out every inch of my mouth, memorising it.

The lift starts to ascend. I don’t remember either of us pressing the button to any of the floors, but Vin must have because he breaks our kiss and pulls me out of the open doors into a foyer.

“You know, I’ll take you home or to Elena’s whenever you want to leave,” he tells me.

“Do you want me to leave?” I ask him.

Vin shakes his head. “Not even a little bit,” he says, biting into his bottom lip.

“Okay, guess I’m staying then.”

Chapter Five

My eyes flicker open and land on her. Cammi. I watch as her chest rises and falls with each breath she takes. I wasn’t planning on falling asleep. I don’t sleep next to people. I had every intention of sliding out of the bed and leaving the room. The last thing I want is to wake up screaming while someone else is in my bed.

Especially her. That’s a part of me she doesn’t need to see. I couldn’t bring myself to leave her, though. Her naked body curled up around mine. There’s something grounding about her touch. Something that calms my demons. It’s different from getting high. Somehow, this girl’s touch both numbs and sets something alive within me. Something I’ve never felt before.

I don’t usually like when someone touches me. When I’ve slept with chicks in the past, I make a game of tying them down so they can’t touch me. I didn’t do that with Cammi. I wanted her to touch me, which made the experience all that much better. We didn’t fuck last night. I wouldn’t call it making love either, but it was something between the two.

When she fell asleep in my arms, so vulnerable, so trusting, I wanted to wrap her up and protect her from the evils of this world. Including the biggest risk to her right now. Me. I didn’t do that, though. I’m not ready to let this go. Whatever this is.

She’s good for me. For the first time in a long time, I didn’t wake up with the need to light up. The nightmares didn’t come. I shake the thoughts from my head. I don’t even want to think about those demons while she’s lying in my arms.

“You look like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders,” Cammi says, her voice raspy and full of sleep.

“Anyone ever tell you you’re beautiful when you’re sleeping?” I roll over, my face close to hers.

“Only my parents,” she says. “How long were you watching me?” Cammi asks while a small smile spreads across her lips.

“Not nearly long enough.” I lean in closer. “Ask me.”

She knows what I want—no, what I need her to ask me. I made her ask me all night. And when I finally got to sink into her, she didn’t just ask, she begged me.

“Vin?”

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