Page 61 of Worth Every Risk

“I know,” I murmur, pressing my lips to hers again.

“Your lips,” she says. “Your mouth…”

I can’t help but laugh, my breath against her lips.

This kiss is everything I’ve ever wanted from a first kiss. It’s exactly how it should feel and how it has never felt with anyone before. Obliterating any negative feeling between us, transmuting it into something that makes my mind explode with possibility…

“This is better than being shouted at,” she whispers.

“God, yes. Sorry. Sorry. I’m so fucking sorry. Forgive me. I need you to forgive me.” The words tumble out between kisses, and Aries eats them up.

“What do you think I’m doing?” Her lips are barely a hair’s breadth from mine, her voice full of a glorious wonder that warms my heart.This is all right. Everything is all right.

Her hands are on the back of my neck, then one trails up into my hair, tugging on it like she wants to cause me pain. If that’s what she intends, it doesn’t work; it only increases my pleasure.

If this is what kissing her is like, what is sex going to be like with this woman?

I run my hand up her thigh. She’s wearing those tiny pyjama shorts again; her skin is smooth and supple. I dig my fingers into her flesh and she responds by lifting her leg, hooking it on my hip.

Arousal and disbelief mingle in my head.Is this really happening?I want to hold her tighter to prove it’s real.

My cock is throbbing and rock solid, and in this position, it’s pressed right against the space between her legs. We’re separated by only a few layers of clothing, and I want nothing more than to strip them all away.

She moans against my mouth the moment she feels me there and rocks her hips against me,intome, like she wants to slide right onto me. It sends me into a heady spin and I kiss her again, devouring her.

A cry from further down the corridor crashes into my awareness. Aries hears it too, and she pushes off me, gasping for breath. She stumbles a little as she regains her footing.

Aries and I stare for a second. Her eyes are wild, like she can’t believe what just happened either.

The cry comes again. It’s Lucie, but the sound is full of sleep. She’s having a nightmare. I want to go to her, but I also don’t want to move. As soon as we move, this is over.

Aries is the first to dash towards Lucie’s room. I’m about to follow, but I hold myself back. Aries’ earlier words ring loud in my memory, and the recollection makes me grind my teeth.

She’s scared of you. You’re huge and terrifying, and when you shout like that it’s frightening.

Maybe Aries is better at this than I am. Maybe I really am failing both my children. Talk about a hard fucking comedown.

17

ARIES

It doesn’t take long to settle Lucie back to sleep. She was barely awake when she was crying out.

My heart is hammering, and adrenaline is still surging through me, making my hands tremble. There’s no sign of Mr Hawkston when I come out of Lucie’s bedroom. I hoped he’d be waiting for me, but Iknewhe wouldn’t, so I’m not surprised to find the dark corridor empty. The only evidence that he was here at all is the lingering scent of his cologne. I wish I could bottle it and take it with me.

Shit. This situation is fucked up.

I don’t know what to think. He was so angry earlier, and I was angry with him for being angry, but then… itshattered. Sure, part of me hated how he’d dressed me down so publicly, but seeing him standing there, desperate for me not to leave… it was too much. I was overcome with wanting, having, touching,tasting. Completely powerless to listen to the sensible part of my brain that hated how hard it was for him to admit he was sorry until we were kissing, and then it spilled out like blood from anopen wound…God, yes. Sorry. Sorry. I’m so fucking sorry. I don’t think an apology has ever felt as good as that one did.

On the plus side, I’ve confirmed I wasn’t imagining this attraction between us. It’s real, and now we’ve let it out, it’s a wild creature. We can’t put it back in the box. At least I can’t.

What if that’s why he’s not here? What if he’s already sealed it, locked it down somewhere he can’t touch it? If he wanted to kiss me again, wouldn’t he have waited?Shit.

I need to talk to someone. Not necessarily to tell them what happened, but just so I don’t have to be alone with the crazy thoughts running through my head. I quickly formulate a plan. I head to my room and grab my old phone from the bedside table. I bring up Alec’s phone number. It rings twice before he picks up.

“Hello?” he says.

“It’s Aries. Can I come over? Are you busy?”

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