Page 48 of Ticket to the Stars: Part One

Angel’s lips pulled into a frown. She didn’t say anything to that.

Still holding onto her hand, I turned my body towards her. “Not because I regret kissing you, Angel, but because—because things are just complicated. You’re—” I paused, letting my gaze fall to her mouth. I decided to change the subject, “I really enjoyed kissing you.”

“You weren’t bad… I guess.”

That got me to smirk. “Well, I’ll take it. Considering you don’t have anyone else to compare me to, I’d say that was the best kiss you’ve ever had.”

“And by that logic, also the worst.”

“Touché, my lady, touché.” I lifted my free hand to tuck some of her hair behind her ear, and she never broke eye contact with me while I did it. The way she was staring at me made me think she wanted more—and the longer she watched me, the more I could feel whatever small traces of willpower I’d scrounged up during the walk back to the Redborne cracking under pressure.

The elevator door opened once we reached our floor, and I only let go of her hand when we reached our suite. I was about to pull out the key card from my wallet when I happened to look at her.

That was my mistake, because something in me panged with need, and before I knew what I was doing, I was whispering, “Maybe just one more, for the road.” Before I could stop and think about what a terrible idea this was, I had her against the wall beside the door, pinning her with my body once again as my mouth crashed down upon hers.

Angel was a fast learner. From the very first moment our lips met, she was kissing me back. She moaned into the kiss, bringing her hands to my chest and curling her fingers in the fabric of my shirt. She melted against me.

This embrace was harder than our first, a fire behind each push and pull of our lips, the passion so strong it was almost bruising. I couldn’t get enough of her. I couldn’t pull myself away. It was like I needed more, my quota of Angel and her lips not nearly topped off. I needed so much more.

That’s when I knew this wasn’t because of me being told not to do it. I didn’t want Angel simply because I was told to stay away from her.

I wanted her because she made me crazy, because, to her, I wasn’t sex on two legs. She didn’t worship the ground I walked on and bent over to kiss my feet. To her, I was just a guy who might be a little too full of himself.

But it went the other way around, too. Angel wasn’t a fan. She wasn’t a girl who was constantly smiling and batting her eyelashes at me. She was the opposite of all of the girls I’d gone for. Not hook-up material. No, this girl was the prize, and once you had her, you never let her go.

I didn’t know how long we made out before pushing into the dark suite and going our separate ways, but it was a while. Long enough for my lips to feel a little bruised.

Oh, Angel. What the hell are you doing to me?

Chapter Twenty-One – Angel

Alexa was frantic when I told her I’d had my first kiss. She’d tried calling me, but seeing as how I was in the suite, with the guys… let’s just say I didn’t trust Alexa not to scream with her excitement for me. Didn’t want another repeat of the conversation I’d had with my sister—although Alexa had no idea that I was here, with Black Sacrament.

I texted her:I can’t talk on the phone now, but I can text.I bit my fingernail. I was sitting on my bed, my legs tucked underneath my butt. I’d gotten no sleep at all last night once Priest and I had come back.

How could I? After kissing him, my mind raced, my skin was all hot, and I couldn’t stop replaying what had happened over and over in my head.

I shouldn’t have let him kiss me. I knew that. And I also knew that being annoyed with him for saying we should keep our make-out a secret was the only logical thing; we’d both been told to stay away from the other. Things weren’t supposed to get complicated between us, at least not more complicated than it already was.

I’d waited until the morning to text Alexa and tell her about my first kiss. I shouldn’t have gotten so worked up seeing her bond with her new roomie; it was my fault I was here and not there. I had no reason to be jealous since I’d chosen this. None at all.

What I did wish, though, was that I could tell her where I was and who I’d kissed. I was pretty sure the addition of those two not so tiny details changed the gravity of the whole story. I mean, I’d kissed Priest, for goodness sake.Priest. He’d pretty much walked me through how to kiss someone.

That was weird, wasn’t it? Weird, but also kind of hot.

Alexa didn’t have classes for a while yet, so her response was immediate:No fair. You better tell me more details than that!

She wasn’t the only one who wanted details. I’d never, ever tell my sister that I’d kissed Priest, but if I did, she’d have a thousand and one questions for me. Then she’d probably tell me I needed to up my game with Bishop and Deacon so I could follow her plan.

You know, the one where she wanted me to have three boyfriends so I could get Mom used to the idea, all so she could roll up with multiple boyfriends once she got older.

Let’s just say my sister wouldneverknow I’d kissed Priest.

I bit the inside of my cheek, wondering what I could tell Alexa. I’d been so upset with Priest after hearing him say that I wasn’t his type and he’d never go for me that him kissing me had been the last thing on my mind last night—until he, you know, kissed me.

I settled with saying,He’s hot, but a player. It was a mistake.Of course, I didn’t want to admit it was a mistake to anybody, but what Priest had said last night was true: things were complicated enough.

Plus, someone like Priest could never be nailed down by one woman. Someone like him probably needed a rotation of girls—even though, now that I was thinking about it, he hadn’t really gone out since I’d moved in. As far as I knew, he’d never met up with the two girls from the karaoke bar.

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