Page 101 of False Start

“I mean it. We’re home. Things are back to normal.”

“Okay.” He gave up without a fight, and I hated the disappointment that filled my stomach at the easy way he gave up on the idea. “The offer still stands.”

“I’ll be spending all my time studying.”

“I can help. Quiz you, I mean. I don’t know shit about whatever the hell you’re learning, but I can ask questions.” He pushed aside the coagulation theory book, opening the study exams underneath.

“How much of a ten molar stock solution do you need to add to make two liters of a one molar diluted solution?” He narrowed his eyes and let out a breath, flipping back to the cover. “What the hell does that mean?”

“You don’t want to stay here, Texas.”

“I don’t?”

Despite the low hum of warning, I wanted him to stay. I didn’t want to spend the night alone in my apartment. I wasn’t quite ready to go back to my life before the rally.

I exhaled, tipping my head back. “Okay. Why not? What’s another couple of days?”

THIRTY-THREE

TRENT

Kit’s apartment,along with having terrible water pressure and barely-working air conditioning, had paper-thin walls. For the second morning in a row, the crash of bottles and gears whirring from the dump truck outside woke me up.

Kit slept soundly, body curled into a ball and her face pressed against my chest. I wrapped my arm over her bare shoulders, tucked into my side.

One week since the rally and I’d spent every night at Kit’s place. We’d fallen into a weird liminal space where Derek would announce in the morning he planned to spend another day with Gavin, and I’d suggest I stay one more night. And every night before we fell into bed, Kit would promise this was the last time.

Of course, tonight, that might actually come true. While he’d stay in his brace for a while yet, Derek’s rehab sessions had been helping, and he finally gained enough mobility to return to the apartment. Soon, I’d wake Kit up for her certification exam, and there’d really be no reason for me to stay.

My stomach churned at the realization. No more late nights watching movies. No more study sessions that I’d try to turn into strip poker-style quizzes. No more falling into bed, her skin silky and kisses desperate.

“Is it time to get up?” Kit squirmed closer. Her lips brushed my neck.

“Twenty more minutes,” I murmured, kissing her temple. “You could get a little more sleep.”

She shook her head. “No. I’m too nervous.”

“You’re going to ace this test, get the highest score ever.”

“I’ll be happy if I pass.” She ran her mouth over my stubbled jawline. “But maybe you could distract me for a bit?”

I tilted my head, my lips finding hers. She pulled the covers up over our heads, tilting her head back as my lips skated down her neck.

“I think I could provide some temporary distraction,” I murmured, skating my hand up her back.

Her fingers danced down my chest, gliding over my hip. Her leg wrapped over mine as she gripped my dick, her hands soft and cool. I groaned. “That’s not fair, Kitten. I thought I was supposed to distract you.”

“This is pretty distracting for me, actually,” she said, tightening her grip and stroking it down my length.

I dipped my head down to her breast, sucking her nipple as I rocked into her hand. I ran my hand down her waist, palming her mound and delving my middle finger into her slit.

She sucked in a breath, pressing her free hand to the back of my head, twisting her fingers in my hair. Her hips swayed as my eyes locked with hers.

“Should I get a condom?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No, just like this. This is perfect.”

Perfect. I hung on to that word, covering her lips with mine as she bucked against my palm. I put away my worries about what would happen tonight, when I’d see Kit again, and how I could tease out just a few more minutes of perfection.

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