Page 53 of Caught Stealing

It’s driving me mad, but not in anger.

Inwant.

His teeth roll over his bottom lip before he murmurs, “But there’s one thing I couldn’t figure out.”

“What?” I find myself whispering, still held captive by his gaze.

“How I knew.” His eyes search my face, taking in every line and curve of my features before adding. “But it all makes sense now. The familiarity was because I’d already tasted you before.”

Pure, carnal desire roars through me at his words, ripping and clawing at the mask I’m desperate to hold in place. But the only problem is—thanks to his nearness and the alcohol—it’s slowly slipping out of place.

“So you…”

“Blacked out,” he finishes, nodding slowly. “I’m not proud of it, but yeah. I was gone.”

I clear my throat and mutter, “Clearly, you have zero self-control.”

“Oh, believe me, Nix,” he whispers, attention now fixed on my mouth. “If that were true, you’d be on your back beneath me right now.”

Shit.

The ache inside me intensifies to a level almost impossible to ignore, and it’s at this moment I realize something I should’ve known all along.

This is all a game to him. A dangerous one.

One I certainly know better than to play.

It’s why I should push him away—shove him back into the pool, get up, and go to bed. Or better yet, hold his head underwater and drown him the way I’ve been itching to since we arrived. Anything would be better than going along with this, falling further into the trap that’s been set for me.

Even knowing this isn’t enough to snap me out of the seductive trance he’s pulled me into, though.

If anything, he’s dragging me further and further under. Drowning me in want, lust, desire…until all I can do is succumb.

“Why are you doing this?” I whisper.

“Because it’s all I can think about anymore.” His attention drifts from my eyes back to my lips. “You’reall I think about. And I can’t do anything to stop it.”

An electric surge rushes through me, and more than anything, I wish the alcohol swimming in my veins was the reason behind it. Too bad we’re long past the point of pretending any differently.

I want him.

And while that fact also makes me want to drown him, it’s still true.

I want him more than oxygen; the very thing I need to survive in this fucked-up reality where he’s supposedly with my best friend.

Regardless of all the reasons why I shouldn’t, despite all logic that defies it…I want him.

It’s the only explanation for why my fingers curl around the back of his neck, and I drag his mouth to mine.

Something inside me breaks—splinters apart piece by piece—the second our lips collide, and it only gets more intense when his hands leave the concrete to grip either side of my face. The moment the heat of his skin seeps into mine, I become unglued. Dismantled.

Destroyed at a cataclysmic level, and all that remains is the bone-deep desire for him I’ve been trying to fight.

A soft groan slips free when the tip of his tongue teases the seam of my lips before spearing between them altogether, no part of him willing to wait for permission. Everything with Holden is at warp speed—all acting first and thinking later. I shouldn’t be surprised he kisses the same way.

One hand slides around and anchors in the back of my hair, holding me in place while he feverishly explores my mouth. Tongues roll and tangle together in a frenzy as hands glide over bare skin and toned muscles, a feral kind of desperation taking over us both.

His other hand drops down to my waist, sliding around my lower back, dragging me closer to the edge. To him. Except chest to chest isn’t enough for either of us, so he slides his palm down my leg until it reaches my calf in a silent request. One my body listens to instantly, igniting under his touch as I wrap my legs around his waist, and he drags me straight into the pool.

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