Page 77 of Roses in Summer

“Ciern,fuck.” Moving my palm from her face, I haul her body into mine and squeeze her shoulders. “You did the right thing by calling Ava. If you think you’re in danger, if you feel even the slightest bit uncomfortable, you call someone. Me, Ava, you brother, your parents; I don’t care who, but you call, okay?” She nods, her head moving minutely. I stare at her, taking in her tight shoulders, downcast eyes, and drawn face. I don’t like how broken she looks, and I know that I have to do anything I can to pull her out of the state she’s in.

Clearing my throat, I ask, “Do you trust me?”

She doesn’t hesitate and nods immediately.

“Can I touch you?”

This time, I watch her play the question back, considering the implications. It takes her a moment, but she nods again. I stare at her, weighing her consent before I lower my hand from her face. “You say stop, and I stop, yeah?”

“Okay.” She swallows, her eyes wide as they track my hands.

Gripping her around the waist, I lift her body high enough that her face is eye-level with mine. On instinct, she wraps her arms around my neck, clutching my body, but she remains silent, though I see the unasked questions in her eyes.

Setting her down on a clear table, I move my hands to her fingers, unleashing them from my skin and holding them up in front of me. Kissing each palm, I lower her hands to the table and place mine beside her, caging her in.

Everything about our position mimics that of our first kiss, the one that ignited this thing between us.

“What are you doing?” she asks, and I can taste the desire on her breath, sending a jolt of lust straight to my cock. I shift my hips back, careful not to brush against her stomach as I move.

“You weren’t touching me that night, ciern. Relax for me,” I order.

“What—” she starts, but I cut her off, capturing her lips in a light kiss, one meant to soothe. My lips work over hers, opening her up for me until I’m able to slip my tongue inside to tangle with hers.

I deepen the kiss, pressing more firmly against her as my hands move to cradle her jaw and set her head in the exact position I need. Ripping my mouth from hers, I trail my tongue down her neck, not stopping until I’m at her pulse point and can feel the thrumming of her heart through the fragile skin.

Laying my mouth against her, I suck hard, leaving a mark in the same spot I marked her the first time. But this time, I won’t let anyone confuse the bite for a curling iron burn.

Moving my lips lower, I bite at the flesh below her newly marked skin, creating a pattern of bruises that declare Seraphina as mine.

“Linc, god,” she whimpers, pressing her body against mine, trying to gain some relief.

Pulling back, I straighten her head, careful not to jostle her body as I reposition us.

“As sweet as I fucking remember, ciern.” Unable to help myself, I lean back in, biting her lower lip before soothing the pain with my mouth. “We need to go, Seraphina.”

My words register, pulling her out of the haze she’s in. “Oh. Oh my god. Lincoln, I work here. We can’t— This is—” She stops, shaking her head and pressing her hands against my chest. She probably meant to push me away, but she’s gripping my T-shirt, holding me close to her as she processes the recreation of our first kiss.

“It’s okay, Seraphina.”

She lets out an exasperated sigh. “What time is it?”

Releasing my hold on her, I pull out my phone and check. “It’s almost nine fifteen.”

“My shift ended at nine. Let me clean up down here, and then we can go.” She nods to herself, confirming the plan she just laid out.

She tries to slide down from the table, miscalculating how closely I’m standing to it. As she moves her body, it rubs against mine, lining her up perfectly with my cock. If we had on fewer clothes and were in any other situation, I wouldn’t hesitate to take my time with Seraphina, making sure that there was no distance between us. She presses against my pelvis, shooting pressure and desire straight to my balls, and I grit my teeth, closing my eyes against the sensation.

She stiffens at the feeling, the hardness between her legs that must be foreign to her, unless— “Seraphina,” I growl, one hand still on her jaw.

“Sorry,” she says, swallowing audibly.

I step back, dropping my hand from her face and giving her space to move. I watch the emotions play out on her face: confusion, longing, annoyance. But she shutters them quickly, donning a mask like I don’t know exactly what’s going through her head.

She lowers her gaze as she drops to the floor and tries to shuffle past me.

Grabbing her around her waist, I lift her once more, moving quickly until she’s pressed between my body and the wall. Invading her space, I whisper in her ear.

“Wipe that look off your face, ciern. The only thing I want to do right now is lay you down on top of these papers and make you feel good, but we’ve already taken it too far.” I lower her over my dick, letting her feel the outline of my erection. “I’m about to come in my jeans from kissing you, from seeing that mark bloom like a goddamn rose on your neck.” I punctuate my claims by pressing a soft kiss against her mouth for the treason her mind committed.

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