Page 17 of Dirty Little Mistake

My shoulders lifted in a half-shrug. "It started as a way to release some pent-up aggression and exercise, and now I kind of like it."

His eyebrows arched. "Kind of?"

"Getting hit in the face sucks." I touched my nose, remembering the last time I'd been hit.

He leaned to the right, fishing a joint from his pocket. A smile played at the corners of his mouth. "So it's more than just a hobby?"

He pulled the blunt to his lips, flicked the lighter, and cupped the flame, protecting it from the wind.

I traced patterns on his knee with my fingertip. "I don't know yet." I wrapped my jacket tighter around me. It wasn't freezing outside, but there was a cool chill in the air, and when the wind blew, I shivered.

"And the Cages?"

The inside of my cheek found its way between my teeth. His eyes had that intensity that made my stomach flip. "The Cages are more of an itch I want to scratch."

He brought the blunt back to his lips, drawing in deeply. Smoke curled from his mouth as he spoke. "So you're just curious? You don't plan on fighting?"

"My interest is piqued, but I don't think I'm anywhere near ready to fight."

He exhaled a cloud of smoke. "Do me a favor and wait for me to get back." I cocked a brow. "To go to the Cages."

He was being protective, and if it had been anyone else, I would have told them to fuck off, but it was Trystan. "Okay."

"What about skating?"

Sucking in a deep breath, I let my head fall back against the high back of the lounger. Typically, I would be happy for the subject change, but I would rather him grill me about the Cages than talk about the sport I gave up because of fear. "I love skating, but I'm not very good at it."

He pressed the joint to his lips and inhaled deeply while his free hand fell to my thigh, and the heat of his fingertips, as it slipped through one of the tears of my jeans, distracted me from all of my thoughts. "That's not what I heard." He exhaled slowly as his fingers slid in further, and I swallowed hard. "I heard that there's nothing you're bad at."

I smiled, trying to focus on his words and not his hand. "Kaia is my best friend. She has to say that."

He frowned. "Maybe to you, she does, but not to me."

Kaia was an amazing pairs skater. She and Mattias could have made it to the Olympics, but she'd lost her love for the sport when she'd lost him, and I lost it when I gained the new fear of cracking my head open on the ice again.

In my freshman year in high school, I spent the first eight weeks of school in a hospital bed because I attempted a jump I'd done a hundred times before, but that time changed everything. My hand subconsciously lifted, touching the barely visible scar above my right eye on my forehead as the memory flashed forward.

I still skated most mornings, but not competitively anymore.

"What about you?" I changed the subject. His gaze met mine. "What's your plans after the tour?"

"There is no plan." He shrugged. "We're winging it."

"That doesn't surprise me at all." Trystan was the most laid-back person I'd ever met. "Do you think you'll come back home?" I asked, trying to sound indifferent. "Or do you think you'll stay in L.A.?" I wanted him to come back. I wanted him to say ‘I would be back for you no matter what,’ but he didn't.

"I guess that depends on how the tour goes and if we get signed." He lifted the blunt. "You want a hit?"

"Yeah." I nodded, gripping the sides of the seat and scooting to a sitting position.

Squealing, I scrambled for Trystan's shoulders to steady myself when he hooked his large hands under my knees and jerked me forward, pulling me onto his lap. His eyes were filled with a hunger that stole the air from my lungs. The energy between us shifted like an electric charge surrounding us, making the entire world disappear.

My gaze followed his movement as his thumb brushed over my bottom lip, and his hand shaped my face. Heat curled through me as his hand slid down, tightening around my jaw and holding me where he wanted me.

I wasn't entirely sure what was happening, but I didn't care; whatever it was, I never wanted it to end. My chest rose and fell with slow breaths, and my eyes zeroed in on Trystan's mouth as he brought the joint to his lips. Drawing in a long, deep breath, he held it as his grip tightened, moving my face where he wanted it. He angled his mouth to meet mine, and understanding the assignment, my lips parted. I inhaled on his exhale, sucking the smoke from his lungs like it was the only oxygen left on the earth.

My stomach fluttered as I exhaled, and he opened his mouth, pulling the smoke back. My thighs clenched around him as my pussy throbbed at the wildly intimate action.

His hand slid around the back of my neck, gripping tight as he dragged my mouth to his. The kiss was instantly intense as he dominated it, plunging his tongue through my lips and thrusting roughly in and out of my mouth.

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