Page 23 of Burn With Me

Has he ever felt out of control before?What will he do when he realizes who I am? What will I do in response?

The two of us slip deeper and deeper into the garden’s maze behind the frat house mansion, the lights and the music fading as darkness surrounds us. Silence echoes up into the midnight sky. Stars twinkle down overhead. The soft scents of wet soil and freshly cut grass invade my senses. My skin tingles—invisible needles prickling me—as if waking up from a long sleep.

“So, Goddess…” Isaac stops as he comes out in the center of the garden to a stone gazebo and turns to meet my gaze. “What’ll you do now?” he asks.

I tilt my head to the side and pull my hand away, wiping it casually against the side of my dress.It’s a good thing I’m wearing a mask,I think. He can’t see my face and, hopefully, that means he can’t discern the riot my emotions are causing.

Right here. Right now. I’m just a girl he’s interested in. Not his fake stepsister. Not his enemy. Just an illusion.

I smile. “Why don’t we have a seat?” I ask, gesturing to the gazebo.

“Why don’t you tell me why you’re out here with me?” he counters, stepping closer.

Fine. If he wants to play it that way … my hands hit his shoulders and I shove, pushing him back until his spine is against one of the hedges. Behind the mask, his eyes widen in surprise and then narrow as I lean up on my toes and bring my face right before his, sliding closer and closer until my lips are a hair’s breadth from his.

“Is this what you wanted then?” I ask, smiling when he stiffens—not just his shoulders, but something down below as well. What do you know … messing with Isaac Icari is enough to make a girl feel powerful. I should be careful not to get addicted to the feeling.

“Done with your games now, huh?” he replies coolly.

“What makes you think I’m playing a game?”

Hands latch onto my arms and he spins both of us in such a quick motion that my lips part on a gasp and before I know it, my back is pressed into the hedge and I’m lifted off my feet. Left with little recourse, I wrap my arms around his shoulders and my legs around his hips, tightening my limbs until I’m not at risk of falling.Is this what he does to keep girls off balance?I hate to admit it, but it’s working.

His chuckle vibrates against my whole frame. “You and I both know that we’ve both been playing a game since the moment you looked at me and crooked your little finger.” His words are breathy, hot.

Shock hits my system when I feel his lips move against the side of my throat unrestrained. He shows no hesitation, no nervousness as he follows the path of my pulse until he reaches the underside of my jaw and opens his mouth to press a hot kiss to the skin there before pulling away. My thighs tremble and my insides tighten.

I need to get to my phone inside my bra before he realizes it’s there. Releasing his shoulders, I push his upper body back and debate for a brief moment on how to pull this off.

“What’s wrong?” he asks.

“Nothing,” I say quickly. “It’s just … I think my dress is a little too tight.” When in doubt, go naked. It’s not like I’ve never been naked in front of a guy before … just not with the intention to seduce and destroy. Mata Hari, I am not, but I pray it works.

His lips twitch. “Does a goddess reveal her secrets that easily, then?”

I lift my head and regard him curiously. On the outside, it’s a simple, teasing question, but I know there’s a reason for it. It almost sounds like he’s … disappointed. Almost as if he’d expected something different from me. What else could he have thought, though? I’m not a mind reader and even if I was, something tells me Isaac Icari wouldn’t be so easy to understand.

“I didn’t say I was taking it off,” I say quietly. “It’s tight. I just need to adjust it. Unless … you were expecting something else?”

His head jerks back. “You…” He stops, lips parted and for a long moment just stares back at me. The two of us are locked in what can only be considered a battle of wills. Who will crack first?

Moments later, I have my answer. Isaac’s strong arms release me and he slowly lets me slide down his front, so that I feel every hard inch of him. He takes two careful steps away and then turns his back to me. “Hurry up.” The words are said through gritted teeth, a testament to the desires he’s shoving down—all because I told him I wanted to fix my dress.

With a sharp inhale, I reach into my inner cup and pull out my cell phone. Turning quickly, I shove it into the hedge, adjusting the height as much as I can so it can span the two of us. A small kernel of regret pierces me, but as quickly as it came, it fades away again. Even if this isn’t what I want to do, it’s what Ihaveto do.

No sooner have I shoved the phone into place, flicked the camera light off, and hit start on the record button than Isaac turns towards me. I jump as he reaches up and rips his mask off, tossing it away before he moves for me. Now, there’s no more facade—not from him at least. He’s there in all of his Isaac Icari beauty.

I’m back in his arms in a split second, being lifted against a strong chest as my feet leave the ground. With an arm beneath my ass, he keeps me pressed as close to him as physically possible. “You didn’t take off your dress,” he murmurs as his lips return to their previous position against my neck. The heat he exudes invades once more.

“I told you I was just fixing it.” I sigh as his tongue traces a path down to my collarbone.

“No makeup down here,” he says.

“What?” I blink, confused by the comment.

He lifts his head once more. “I thought you would’ve dusted makeup all over,” he says. “I half expected my mouth to come away tasting like plastic and glitter, but I guess all this silken skin is purely you, isn’t it?”

I don’t know what to say to that, but it’s okay because it doesn’t seem like he’s expecting a response. Isaac’s head dips down and he reaches around, fingers finding the zipper at the back of my gown. “You should’ve taken this off instead of fixing it,” he says as my dress loosens and the fabric at the front begins to drift down. It was a good call to remove the phone.

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