Page 109 of Treacherous

"That's not a choice, baby," I grumbled. "That's tyranny and you damn well know it."

"Maybe it is tyranny," she replied airily. "But it's what's happening."

"Not if I can help it."

"What's your deal, Noah?" Shaking her head, Teagan let out a heavy sigh and folded her arms across her chest. "You've told me your secrets and I've told you I understand. I want to be with you – to support you." Her brows furrowed as she stared at me. "You think I'll be afraid because of last time, or turned off – if I see what you're capable of?"

Yes, I'm scared, I'm fucking terrified…"It's not something I want you to have to watch me doing," I managed to squeeze out.

"Before my mom died I spent most of my childhood camping, Messina," she told me smugly. "You're a prince in comparison to the colorful camping companions I've had over the years."

I didn’t respond but the corner of my mouth tipped up.

She was trying to make me feel better.

"Um…let's see." Teagan pretended to think about it for a second before grinning. "There was the particularly curious herd of cows who trampled on our tent, and almost squashed us to death in third year – freshman year to you….And then there was the attack of the water-rat in 08 – the summer we camped in the field of maze."

Her eyes bulged as she used her hands to animate the shape of an animal. "I swear he was the size of a toddler…oh and the most memorable trip was the one I went on to county Kerry with our school and our History teacher was arrested for urinating on the wheel of our school bus on the side of a road."

The school bus tale caused me to chuckle and Teagan grinned victoriously.

"So you see, Mr. Messina," she teased, strutting towards me. "You are like a little furry kitten."

Lowering herself onto the bed, she crawled up my body until our chests were touching. I couldn’t stop myself from wrapping my arms around her. Jesus, she smelled so damn good…

"Nothing will ever terrify me quite like that water-rat," Teagan whispered. "So stop overthinking things. I'm coming with you," she added before lowering her mouth to mine.

My heart swelled to the point of pain as I rolled her underneath me. Yeah, she so wasn’t coming with me, but the arguing could wait until later.

****

Noah

"Do you have a passport, Noah?" Teagan asked me at school on Wednesday.

We had taken to eating lunch in my car. Well, what had started as me going out to my car for a smoke and Teagan keeping me company had turned into private lunch dates in my Lexus.

Swallowing a bite of my sandwich, I turned my face to look at her. "Yeah, baby, I do." Her pretty face flushed and when she smiled up at me and I felt physically sucker punched.

Jesus, there would be no getting over her.

The past few months had been the best of my life and I wasn’t exaggerating or ashamed to admit I was head over heels in love with the girl next-door. I also wasn’t ashamed to admit that the girl next-door had given me the one thing I'd always lacked and constantly craved.

Aspiration.

Teagan Connolly gave me hope every time she smiled at me, or cracked a joke or played me a song on her guitar. Confidence oozed from her. Her laugh was infectious. I was drawn to her aura. She was gorgeous, stunningly beautiful, but then so were a lot of girls.

Looks were a lot of the hunt but they were never the catch.

She was the catch.

The whole package…

Teagan called me treacherous but she was the one who could shake mountains.

She'd unintentionally lit a fire of hope and desire inside of me that seemed to burn brighter and grow stronger the more time I spent with her. To want someone so much that even when you have them, when you're with them, you're still hungry, still craving them. I needed more of her and the more I got the more I knew it would never be enough. It sounded weird, fucking crazy, but there it was.

The girl accepted me, all of me, and to have someone so good love you back even when they know you're not perfect, even though you've done terrible things andwilldo terrible things…well, that was an indescribable feeling.

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