Page 49 of Revelry
Wren yawned and I smiled, reaching for her hips and pulling her to straddle me. I kissed her hard, fingertips hooking into the loops on her jean shorts and tugging her closer. “I like these.”
“Yeah?” she asked, sitting back and looking down at the tattered ends of the shorts as they splayed on her thighs. “I didn’t really bring any shorts that made sense for hiking, so I hacked up a pair of my favorite designer jeans.”
My brows shot up. “Did you cry while you did it?”
“No,” she said on a laugh. “Actually, it was kind of... freeing. Like shedding a bit of the old me, you know?”
I nodded, and for a moment I just watched her, searching her big green eyes for the layers beneath them I’d yet to uncover. She seemed to be watching me, too.
At least, until she yawned again.
“I should let you get some sleep,” I said, but my lips were on hers again, fingers still looped in her jean shorts.
“You’re not kissing me like you plan to leave,” she argued, teeth nipping at my bottom lip before she rolled her hips against me.
I groaned, wrapping my arms around her waist to hold her in place so I could think clearly.
“You have an early morning with Momma Von,” I reminded her. “And I promised old man Ron I’d be under his truck by sunrise.”
Wren scoffed, sitting back but keeping her arms linked around my neck. “You did no such thing. Ron probably doesn’t even know you’re coming.”
“Go to bed, woman.” I smacked her ass playfully and she yelped, laughing and locking her lips on mine as I stood. She wrapped her legs around my waist and I let her, carrying her into the kitchen and reaching blindly for my wallet and keys on the kitchen counter as one arm held her safely in place. Slowly, I lowered her to the ground, kissing the tip of her nose once before reaching behind me for the door knob. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
She watched me with a mischievous smile as I backed out onto her porch. “Save some energy for me.”
I groaned, wondering if I really needed to leave or if I should just push her back inside and take her right there in her kitchen. “Yes, ma’am.”
Wren didn’t leave her doorway until I rounded the edge of her drive. Only then did she tuck back inside and lock the door behind her. I shook my head, a grin too big for my face firmly in place as I walked back to my cabin. It felt permanent, a new carving in the stone I’d built up around me for so long, but it fell quickly when I saw Sarah on my porch.
I knew by the way she stood that she’d come for a fight. One hip was popped out, the boot on her left foot propped up against the stair railing. She kept her arms crossed as I climbed the stairs to where she stood, then she unhooked one arm, revealing a small silver flask in her hand. She tilted it toward me and any doubt I had about her intentions disappeared.
She was definitely here to start trouble.
“What do you want, Sarah,” I said, not even asking as a real question. I moved past where she stood, ignoring her flask offering and unlocking the front door. She took a step as if she was about to follow me inside but I propped a hand hard on the frame, blocking her entry. Her head snapped back, blonde ponytail swinging, glazed eyes looking up into mine. I just lifted one brow, waiting.
“You’re home late.”
“I was busy.”
“I bet you were,” she said on a sharp laugh. “Looks like she didn’t finish the job though, seeing as how you’re home so early. Why don’t you let me inside? I can remind you what it feels like to sleep with a woman who knows everything you like.”
She stepped closer, fingers running the length of her neck as she licked her lips. The younger me would have loved it. The me who existed now was supremely annoyed.
My jaw hardened and I kept my eyes trained on her face. “I have an early morning.”
“So another night, then?”
“Just stop, Sarah,” I snapped, exasperated. “I don’t have time for this shit.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Oh, but you have time to play house with Fashion Barbie?” She scoffed, lips wrapping around the mouth of her flask before she tucked it into her back pocket and squared her shoulders toward me again. “What are you even doing with her, Rev?”
I gritted my teeth. “Don’t.”
“Sorry,” Sarah said quickly, throwing her hands up in surrender. “Anderson. But seriously, why after all these years of shutting out everyone who loves you, you’re choosing to open up to some girl running from her problems for a summer? How is this going to help you in any way?”
“I don’t really see how it’s your business. Goodnight,” I clipped, but her hand caught the door before I could shut it.
“But itismy business. Because in a little over a month she’ll be gone, and I’ll still be here. All of us—Davie, Yvette, Momma Von—we’rethe ones who will have to kick through even thicker walls to try to reach our friend.” Her eyes softened, pleading with mine.
