Page 135 of Love Bleeds Red
I suppress a laugh. “You want to talk about Mum right now in my ultra special romantic spot?”
“I wouldn’t go that far… I think a family of mosquitos just drained half my blood supply.”
She has this way of delivering sarcastic comebacks that I eat the fuck up.
“It’s because you’re so sweet.”
“Wow.” She slow claps. “Cheesy line of the year award goes to this guy right here.”
I do a mock bow. “I accept. And now for my speech. I’d like to thank?—”
She bumps my shoulder. “Don’t think that’s necessary.”
We laugh together, and it actually warms my heart exactly like they say in a cheesy romance movie. The mosquito complaints aside, sitting here with her feels right in a way nothing has for a long fucking time.
“This is nice,” she says, scooting her leg closer to mine. “Just being here with you, talking. I missed this.”
“I missed it too,” I admit. “Every fucking day.”
She turns toward me and I can’t help it, my hand reaches for her face like it has a mind of its own. My finger trails down her cheek, cupping her chin, stroking along the nearly invisible scar there.
“Leon...”
The way she says my name makes my chest tight. “I held onto every memory while you were gone, replaying them in my mind, thinking about every tiny detail. Sometimes I wondered if I was remembering it better than it actually was, you know? Like maybe I was building it up in my head because I neededsomething to hold onto. Like I was crazy for thinking it was that good.”
Her eyelids flutter as I smooth my finger over her bottom lip. “And now?”
“Now I’m thinking my memory was actually pretty shit, because this, being here with you, touching you—it’s so much better than I remembered.”
I trace her bottom lip with my thumb again, and her breath hitches. She’s so close, so fucking beautiful in the moonlight, and I’m dying. Actually dying to kiss her. The want is so strong it’s clawing at my chest, making it hard to breathe.
Slowly, I lean in closer, giving her every chance to pull away, or say stop. I’m so close that we’re sharing the same air, but it’s not close enough. My forehead touches hers, and I brush a stray piece of hair behind her ear. God, she smells so good… so fucking sweet.
“Bailey,” I whisper, barely recognizing the roughness in my voice. “Can I kiss you?”
Her eyes search mine for a moment that feels like forever while my heart pounds against my ribcage. Then, so quietly I almost miss it, she breathes, “Yes.”
“Thank God.”
I close the distance between us, our lips finally touching, softly, tentatively at first. I don’t want to push too hard, or move too fast and fuck this all up. But then she responds, moving her mouth against mine, and everything else fades away. It’s just her—my Bailey and her perfect lips, kissing me back.
As the kiss deepens, I slide one hand into her hair and the other around her waist to draw her closer. Fuck. She tastes as sweet as she smells. I’ve been craving this—craving her, for so damn long.
She slides her tongue over my lip ring before slipping it between my parted lips. I’m goddamn done for. And then she lets out this small moan and I pull back, panting hard.
“Bailey,” I look up at the stars before resting my forehead against hers again, not wanting to put any distance between us, but needing to before I take things too far. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.”
Her answering breath is just as deep as mine. “I’m glad you asked… That was… I missed you.”
“I’ll always ask.” I drag my nose against hers, and leave a soft kiss on her cheek. “I promise you that.”
We sit there for a while longer, until Bailey complains about the mosquitos again. Hands intertwined, we heard back in the direction of the campsite. It’s easier to find now that my eyes have adjusted to the dark.
We get back to barely glowing embers in the fire. The night is quiet at first. But then the sound of a sleeping bag moving against tent fabric interrupts that, followed by a particularly enthusiastic moan from Falin.
“They’re still going?” Bailey asks, groaning.
“Try living with all of them,” I say. “It’s never-ending.”
