Page 41 of Tempted to Rebel

I run my hand down my face, figuring she’s a figment of my sleep-deprived imagination. But no, Celia is wrapped up in my bedsheets, wearingmyshirt—fuck yeah. Eyes closed, lips parted, body warm and waiting for me to slide up behind. I glance up at my younger brother. “You could have gotten in, dude,” I remind him, throwing my towel to the floor. “C’mon, I’ll slide up behind her, and you can take the front, or whatever, just get in with me. But take off your fucking clothes.” I wrinkle my nose. “Maybe take a shower first. Could you do that?”

Ruin’s gaze flicks up from Celia’s sleeping form. He nods. “Okay.”

Whoaaa, progress.

I find him a towel and wait until he’s in the shower before returning to my sleeping beauty. Ruin is a man of function—he won’t spend an hour wasting hot water—so I’ve only got a few seconds alone with her before he reappears. I slide between the sheets andshit,she’s a fucking furnace. A chill races down my spine, but I fucking love it. Wrapping one arm around her waist,I pull her against my chest and sigh into her hair. She smells like… is that…

A chuckle rumbles in my chest. She used my shampoo. Sandalwood and Madagascar Vanilla, or some shit. I’m told the ladies love it. Maybe Celia does, too. Warmth blossoms in my chest, seeping into my bones everywhere we touch. I press a kiss to her forehead and brush my fingertips across her cheek.

She felt safe enough to come to my bed, and somehow, that feels like the biggest win in the world.

As predicted, Ruin appears within seconds. He hasn’t bothered drying off, but at least he hasn’t put his clothes back on. I glance up at him and nod for him to join us. “C’mon, I left room for you.” Behind her instead of in front, but whatever. I’m prettier to look at. Besides, I wanted to see her sleeping face and kiss her sweet lips. Speaking of—I lean in and press my lips to hers gently while Ruin climbs in behind her.

It’s selfish to continue kissing her with Ruin watching, but fuck it, we’re inmybed. I sigh against her mouth and drag her body closer, cocooning my body in her warmth, because damn, is shewarm.I used to slip my hands in her pockets any time we were in her freezer box of a house, so this is reminiscent of those early days. It’s kind of nice.

She stirs, slowly waking. It takes her a moment to adjust, but in that moment, she snuggles against my chest and takes my breath away.

“Hey, beautiful,” I murmur with a smile, “careful, or you’ll spoil me. I might need this to survive.”

Her voice is scratchy when she speaks. “Need what?”

I tilt her chin up and capture her lips in another kiss, loving the way she melts into me.Thisis what I’ve missed. These little moments when it’s just the two of us without all the bullshit in the way. She moans, and the sound goes straight to my cock.Fuck.Pushing her onto her back, I slide my knee between her thighs and crawl on top of her.

She looks up at me with those warm, brown eyes, and my heart does this stupid little flip inside my chest.

My answer comes easy. “You, baby, just like this.” I tug on her shirt, reconsidering. “Maybe naked next time.”

At first, she smiles back at me, her deliciously warm hands wandering across my torso, touching me for no other reason than shewantsto. Once she realizes Ruin is beside us, however, she jumps out of fright. “Ruin! What—what are you doing here?”

Oh, yeah. I guess he is here.

Her cheeks flush as I look between the two of them. Hm. “Did something happen while I was gone?” I ask, slipping Celia’s fingers through mine. I pin her hand beside her head, andfuck, she’s gorgeous. She’s so fucking gorgeous like this. Thick waves of chestnut spiral out on the pillow behind her head, then she licks her perfect, pouty lips, and her body—she takes a quick little breath as our chests touch, tempting me to slip my hand up her shirt and caress that soft, caramel skin of hers. Iwasgoing to go to sleep, but now…

“Nothing happened,” Celia says quickly, squeezing my hand.

Ruin stares at our joined hands and lifts his own, carefully grabbing Celia’s right hand and lifting it beside her head. He wraps his fingers around hers and pins them down to the mattress.

She wiggles beneath me, giving my dick all kinds of ideas. “What are you two doing?”

“Don’t know,” I answer honestly, grinning. “But I wanna find out.” I glance over at my brother. “Hey, if I eat her out, you wanna kiss her? She’ll love it.”

I don’t actually think my brother’s ever kissed anyone. If he has, he’s kept that secret on lockdown, but I can’t imagine him removing his mask for anyone other than himself. Sometimeshe’ll take it off when we’re home, but I know it makes him uncomfortable.

Unlike Rage and me, the fire really fucked him up, and he never really came to terms with the damage.

He’s silent for a long moment, and surprisingly, so is Celia. She’s staring at him like a curious little kitten, and hopefully, they’ll both agree. It would be good for them to become more familiar with each other—more physically intimate.

Hell,Iwant to see that shit.

“No,” he says finally, clutching her hand tighter.

Damn.

“Fair enough,” I sigh, a little more than disappointed.Crushedmight be too strong, but still. The rejection stings. I thought it was a pretty good idea.

Celia feels the sting, too, by the looks of her. She struggles to free her hand from his, but he doesn’t take the cue to let her go. “Hey, hey,” I murmur, cupping her cheek. “Don’t worry, baby, he’ll come around. Won’t you, Ruin? You’ll let Celia see your face. You’ll kiss her too, won’t you? Like this. Watch.” I lean in and steal another kiss, this time slipping my tongue past her lips. She’s stiff and unresponsive at first, but I’m quickly becoming an expert in what she likes. I start gentle and slow, tasting her lips with reverence and teasing her tongue with mine, until she’s moaning and kissing me back, her body shaking, her breaths shallow and soft.

“See,” I murmur, breaking away. Her eyes are glossy, and it fills me with pride to see her wanting.

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