Page 119 of Roaring Flames

Then, with an almost blistering speed, he spins me back around and wraps an arm around my waist. The sparks turn into a full-on inferno from my head to the tips of my toes. Warmth envelops me in a steaming embrace.

This kiss is different from the last one.

Everything we’ve been through, everything he confessed, culminates into one indecipherable emotion—an emotion I canfeel skating through my veins. They whirl inside of me like a tornado as I push up onto my tiptoes and dig my fingers into his hair.

He doesn’t move his hands from where they’re touching my bare skin, a mere inch above the waistband of my pants. But his lips…

His lips devour mine.

His tongue tentatively tangles with mine, and I open for him, wanting more, wanting everything.

I swear when I run my fingers through the garnet strands of his hair, they feel silky to the touch. Not greasy or dirty. When his lips leave mine to trail kisses across my cheek and jawline, I don’t feel the texture of blemished skin. No acne or scars.

One of his hands slowly creeps up my side below my shirt, brushing against the underside of my breast, directly below my satin bra.

I moan against his mouth.

A part of me wants to take this even further—to know what it would be like to be destroyed by Reid and then remade by his hands.

But now isn’t the time or place.

We’re directly in front of my foster parents’ home, and who knows who’s watching? Besides, there’s so much I have to think about when it comes to these men.

My feelings for Ansel and Grayson, for starters.

My attraction towards Christian.

My anger whenever I even think about Ashton.

And my complicated feelings for the twins and Reid.

It takes every ounce of self-control I possess, but I manage to stop the kiss before it can escalate.

Lust tripling my heart rate, I put a hand on Reid’s chest and gently push him away. He’s the size of a giant, but it takes no force at all to move him.

He stares at me as if in a daze, his eyes slightly glassy and his lips swollen.

And for a moment—for a brief, brief moment—his face is ethereal, devoid of any blemishes, and his hair is full and shiny. Then I blink, and the Reid I’ve come to know and care about returns to me.

No less beautiful, at least in my mind.

“Do you believe me now?” I ask, my lips quirking upwards.

I wonder if they look as swollen as they feel.

He blinks. “I…errr…yes?”

“I have to go, but I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

He still seems dazed, but he manages a tiny nod. “Errr…okay.”

I push up on my tiptoes and plant a chaste kiss on the corner of his mouth. Crimson immediately crawls up his neck and settles in his cheeks.

He ducks his head.

I wave goodbye as I bound up the steps to the front door, though I don’t immediately go inside. Instead, I watch him, waiting for him to get his thoughts in order.

He touches his lips with a tiny smile then immediately drops his hand. Frowns. Scowls. Turns towards his bike.

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