Page 4 of Awakened
He stopped in front of a particularly floral front yard and tugged me to him. I tripped on a crack in the sidewalk but caught myself on his warm, toned chest. His dark blue eyes studied me as his arms circled my waist. Closing the distance, he smashed his lips into mine.
And when I say smashed, I mean smashed. He straight-up abused my mouth. It didn’t help that it was the first kiss sincehim. I couldn’t help but compare it to the decade of kisses I had withhim. Jeremiah’s lips mashed into mine with increasing pressure, his tongue doing too much and too little at the same time. Trying to match pace only encouraged him and prolonged the punishment. I could feel the outline of his teeth cutting into the inside of his top lip and wondered if he was enjoyingthis brutality. It was as if he thought the harder the kiss, the better.
He pulled away from me with a satisfied smirk. “Was that adorable?”
Who is this guy? Jeez. Should I play along or crush his spirit?
Tracing his jawline with my fingertips, I smirked and quietly said, “Not adorable. That’s the kind of kiss that makes a girl regret leaving town.” I laid it on a little thick, but hey, it was the nice thing to do.
His expression grew serious as he tucked a frizzy curl behind my ear. “Can I walk you the rest of the way home?”
Do I want to do this?
There would be no turning back if I did. It would really be over. Of course, it was over.Hewas withher, living withher, fuckingher. No, I should take James home and use him seven ways to Sunday.
He was hot. Tall with broad shoulders, shaggy brown hair, and a beautiful jawline. Yeah, he was workable for sure—as long as I kept the kissing to a minimum.
But was I ready?
Much to my relief, before I could answer Joshua, Emily hollered from three blocks away, “Come on, slowpokes! Snacks and fun await!”
Jacob groaned, and I grinned, yanking his hand to drag him along. “You don’t want to stand between that girl and her snacks. I promise you.”
He laughed, and we ran down the block.
I squinted against the bright lights of the gas station as I scanned the group of people standing around for any familiar faces. Emily and Blondie left us outside, and I sat on the wet curb to wait. Sitting next to me, Jordan wrapped his arm around my waist and scooted closer. I was warming to the idea of one last bang before I left. He might be able to make it worth my while.
As I leaned in to tell him he could walk me home, a throat cleared behind me.
Of course.
Exhaling loudly, I turned to glare at the asshole who dared to interrupt my rusty game. “Hey, little bro.” Calling him little was very misleading. He was six-four and just shy of three hundred pounds.
Jasper peeked at my brother, retracted his arm, and scooted away.
Coward.
“What are you doing out? You have a long day tomorrow.” Awesome. When Brandon became beta, he also took up the title of Mr. Bossy Boots. He seemed to forget he was four years younger than me.
“Don’t worry, Dad. I’ll be up and waiting for you tomorrow at seven sharp. I even got Seth and Connor to help.”
Brandon’s eyebrows pulled together as he shook his head. “Les, you know Connor will tell Aiden.”
I shrugged. “Yeah, probably.”
Brandon’s gaze traveled over John and then back to me. He sighed heavily and said, “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow. Make good choices, Les.”
Giving him my back, I flicked my wrist in a short wave. I knew my brother was gone when Jim was back at my side, which was kind of pathetic. Clearly, he wasn’t the best person to use as my reintroduction to the single world. When Emily and Blondie staggered out of the store, I shifted away from Mr. J’s side and stood.
“Hey Em, I’m getting tired, so I think I’m going to head home.”
Emily’s smile fell, and she pushed her nachos into Blondie’s hands. She whispered in my ear, “You taking him home?”
I glanced back at Jackson and caught him staring at me with a hopeful smile.
Such a waste.
“No, no. Brandon scared the little darling, and I am not in the mood for a softie.” Emily giggled and then whispered in Blondie’sear. Suddenly, Blondie asked Dr. J to run back inside with him to grab another bunch of nachos.
