Page 29 of Taste of Addiction

His huge grin makes me giggle. I rest my head on his shoulder as he sets out to make the best marshmallow. I watch as he slowly turns the stake until the white fluff ball is an even golden tone.

He places it on top of the chocolate square that rests between two graham crackers and smooshes it down. He places the sandwich between my lips, coaxing me to bite. I chomp down and chew the stringy goodness.

“It’s delicious,” I say with a moan, licking at all of the crumbs sticking to my lips.

“Here, I can help,” Graham says, leaning over to suck at my lips, tasting me. “Yum. Good, huh?”

“Better than sex.”

Graham stops midbite and stares at me in disbelief. “You wound me.”

“Been so long, I hope I don’t forget what to do.”

He bursts out laughing, making me join him. We finish the s’more together, while I toast up another marshmallow over the tiny fire. Snowflakes fall on my nose, and I try to lick them up with my tongue. The lantern light, coupled with the flicker from the fire, makes the snow on the ground glisten with a beautiful sparkle. Like billions of little ice diamonds scattered across the field.

I pull out my phone and take a selfie of Graham feeding me a bite of s’more. I look hideous with white strings of marshmallow stuck to my chin. And the lighting from the fire casts a weird glow on my skin—and not the flattering kind. But I laugh anyway, because it feels damn good to be together again.

“Thank you for coming here,” I say, resting my head on his shoulder. “I really missed you.”

“Baby, I’ve been going insane being apart. I hate this just as much as you do. But I’m working with Nic and the field ops team to figure out a plan. You’ve been keeping Nic’s FBI affiliation a secret, correct?”

“Of course. I would never want to jeopardize anything or put anyone’s life in danger.”

“Okay, good. Not many from my security staff even know we are brothers. The fewer people who know, the better.”

I nod and snuggle in closer to him, as he wraps the blanket around us tighter.

“It hasn’t been easy here,” I admit. “Some days are not good days.”

Graham places a chaste kiss on my forehead. “We’ll be together soon, sweetheart. And then nothing will touch us.”

“I have classes to attend. I’m almost done with my last semester before I graduate. I’m scared about my future if I can’t get the internship I want. I’m so used to failure, but for some reason I can’t accept not being the type of journalist I am striving to be.”

His body goes rigid. I know he is not happy with my choices. But they are my choices. My life. We stare at the dying flames and watch as the smoke blends in with the foggy exhales of our own mouths.

“Life isn’t always black-and-white, Angie. Sometimes doors can open that you never thought you wanted. I really wish you would consider other options for your career choices. Because this stubbornness you have toward bringing down a drug ring isn’t going to happen. I refuse to sit back and watch you run into the fire, when you know damn well that you’re going to get burned.”

“I know more about life than you give me credit for, Graham.”

“I just want you to be safe. Is that so much to ask for?”

We sit in silence as we encounter the umpteenth standoff. How are we ever going to move past this? This isn’t a crossroad where I have multiple choices. This is basically the end of the road. I either turn around and go back to having a life, where English is my major and everything is uneventful and bland, or I push through to the end and go off the pavement, where the dirt road can lead me to amazing opportunities in my writing career. Play it safe or take the risk? Those are my only two options.

Sometimes it is just easier to lie. “I’ll think about another topic to write about. I still have some time to figure it out.”

My comment earns me a passionate kiss that pushes me back into the snow-covered blanket. A few flakes stick to my eyelashes and disappear with each blink. I roll so I am on top of him and nearly kick over the fire pit in the process. I smile down at Graham and kiss his cold, red nose. I rub my lower half along his, laughing at how it is possible to achieve the needed friction with this many layers of clothes.

“I want you,” he says, each word drawn out.

“I fear you forgot how to take me.”

And just like that, I am rolled over, tossed into the night air, and hoisted over Graham’s shoulder.

“I’m going to show you just how much your body remembers mine,” he says, smacking my ass as he saunters through the field. It is so dark out that the help of a solo lantern is the only thing that gets us back to the house.

“What about all the stuff we left behind?” I ask, out of breath from all of the bouncing I endured from Graham’s eager stomping.

“It’s being taken care of. Just worry about getting that pussy of yours wet enough to grant me easy access. Because, sweetheart?”

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