Page 97 of Starstruck

Her head fell once more, as she sniffled, and then I knew I hadn’t done athing to convince her that I was okay. So instead I asked.

“What are you dreaming about, Sunshine?”

She lifted her head before I finished the end of my sentence, and, slowly, one ofher shaky hands rose to my face. She hesitated for a second, like she was weighing up the perfect answer, before she sucked in a breath and whispered beautifully, “You.”

Never had three letters stolen my breath before. But perhaps it wasn’t theletters at all, and instead it was the girl who spoke them.

Our eyes held for a moment, having the conversation that we didn’t have theenergy to speak. There was a veil over her eyes I hadn’t seen before, the kind that made her look anything but innocent. I drew the tip of my nose up the bridge of hers, a mirror of how we’d looked before, under the tree, dipping until our cupid bows were touching, promising something that I wasn’t sure if she wanted.

“Are we… supposed to be this close?” she asked, her voice barely audible.

I gave a small shrug, just as lost. “Not unless we want to be.”

Her head fell away from mine, only an inch, as her gaze dropped to my lips. “But what are we even doing, Tristan?”

“Honestly?” I whispered, the words tumbling out, raw and unfiltered. “I’m not sure I know anymore.”

Her voice was a breath, almost lost to the rain pelting on the window. "Who are we doing this for?" She shrugged, her eyes holding mine. "It's just us."

My thumb skated against her skin, the chill from outside blanketing it. "That's good enough for me to do whatever it is we nearly did at the park." I held her eyes. "If my phone hadn't rang, Gold's I would have never pulled away." She dropped my stare, but I brought my fingers under her chin and set her eyes on me again. "I can't pull away from you. I've tried and I can't. And I'm starting to think it's because I don't want to." I nodded. "Do you want to pull away?"

Before I could even let the question settle in my mind, her head shot up, and her lips claimed mine.

The contact wasn’t just a kiss—it was a lightning strike, a shockwave that set every nerve ending alight. It was the kind of spark that could burn a man down to his core and leave him begging for the flames. Time seemed to stutter, the chaos in my head silenced like it had been waiting for this moment all along.

Her lips were warm and soft, tentative at first, like she was testing the line she'd just crossed. Then, with a quiet surrender, she pressed deeper, bolder, as if daring herself to believe in what she’d started.

And that was it for me. I was gone, utterly consumed by Goldie—her taste, her warmth, the power she wielded over me without even trying. The pain that had been coursing through my body evaporated, replaced by something far more potent. It was as if I’d been yanked out of hell and thrust into heaven, all because of the way her lips fit so perfectly against mine.

As she kissed me again, wrapping those soft lips around mine, I threw cautionout the cracked window and threw my hands in her hair, fisting the golden strands that always fell effortlessly down her back. She seemed to like that, so I tugged a little more, earning me a whimper that I was sure had never been heard by the world before.

Her hands cupped the stubble on my face, worry spiking through me at the roughness compared to her hands, but I was soon distracted when she pulled away for a split second.

“Tristan,” She breathed as her eyes met mine, but our mouths were stillgrazing. “I’m sorr—”

Before she could utter that useless apology, I stole her mouth back, telling herall too well that there was nothing she should be sorry for in this moment. To send the message home, I slowly got to my knees, Goldie copying me, and before I knew it, we were standing.

We were a beautiful mess of damp clothes, wild hair, and breathless breaths,and I had a feeling it made a picture that would be priceless.

My hands slid down to the small of her back, and everything about the way our lips moved together made my stomach do flips. She felt just as I’d imagined during those moments when my mind had wandered, wondering what it would be like—how she’d feel under my hands, how her lips would taste. Things I never thought I’d get to know.

Every doubt, every worry faded into the background, overshadowed by the urgency of the moment. I pulled her even closer, feeling the warmth radiating from her body, the soft curve of her back fitting perfectly against me. This was raw, primal—everything I had wanted but hadn’t dared to reach for until now.

Then Goldie tugged me back to reality, biting my bottom lip just hard enough to send another jolt through me. I pulled back, catching my breath, my eyes locking onto hers.

I shook my head at her, teasingly, before leaning back in and gently biting her lip in return, the one she'd just claimed. “You really are something, Marigold,” I murmured, my voice low, a little unsteady.

Her laugh was soft, but it lit up the moment. And I felt it—whatever this was between us, it was more than I was ready to admit.

And before I could take a breath, before she could, I slipped my hands down toher thighs and lifted her, wrapping her legs around my waist and holding her in place.

Our mouths moved together in a rhythm I didn’t want to lose, each kiss drawing me deeper, locking me in with her. Every movement sent me spiraling further into a sweet oblivion where nothing mattered but the feeling of her, the taste of her. She was all I could focus on, and I didn’t want to come up for air.

She was a drug that I wanted to take, and not once was I scaredabout becoming addicted. She was all the good in the world wrapped up in a lace bow. There was a type of darkness that wasn’t the kind to be scared of; instead, I wanted to explore it and get lost in the footpaths.

It clicked in my head then that nothing I’d ever said towards thisgirl was pretend. Every time I held her hand, the feelings I felt were real. Every time I stared at her and felt like I was existing under the light of one of the world’s wonders, it was all real.

But… was it just as real for her?

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