Page 18 of Late Nights & Love Lines
Spluttering, we look up to find remnants of water balloons tacked to the roof of the porch. My gaze follows the rope I’ve only now noticed that’s hanging on a Command hook. She must have used it to somehow pop the balloons. It leads to a giant bush that’s already shaking, followed by the sounds of footsteps racing away from the scene of the crime.
“Are there other kids at camp already?” he asks, swiping a hand over his face.
I shake my head while wiping the goop from my eyes.
“Miles wouldn’t do this, and Kade is too young. What the hell was Seren thinking?” His voice booms into the night even as he lifts the hem of his T-shirt to clear his eyes.
Dang. This man has never heard the term Dad-bod—I’d bet Junebug on it.
Before I can reply, a belly laugh overtakes me. “It’s a harmless prank. I did much worse when my life was turned upside down.”
I’d gone the self-destructive path. At least she’s acting out in a way that’s not harmful.
He paces the small porch while wiping angrily at his face. The muscles in his bare forearms bunch and jump with the movement, making my belly clench and nerve endings throb.
“This is so fucking disrespectful. It’s unlike her and completely unacceptable. I’ll speak to her.”
Regardless of what he says, my body responds when he speaks, and I shiver.
Again, I reach out to stop him, then stuff my hands into my pockets. I really need to get a grip on my limbs. I haven’t spent a lifetime avoiding people to have it all crash to hell now. “It’s okay, really. Trust me when I say I can handle this. I can almost guarantee this was for me. She had no way of knowing you’d be out here tonight since you’re supposed to be at the bonfire, but when I dropped my stuff off earlier, I mentioned that I’d love to sit on the porch and listen to the ocean.”
“That makes it even worse,” he thunders.
I point my thumbs at my chest. “I’m a professional, remember? I’ve got this.”
His gaze follows my thumbs. What the heck am I doing? I basically drew him a giant arrow pointing at how my nipples are pressed against the wet fabric of my T-shirt.
“It won’t happen again,” he rumbles. The tension in his jaw flicks as he blinks hard.
I appreciate that he’s attempting not to stare at my boobs even as a secret part of me wishes he would.
I simply shake my head, cross my arms over my chest, and focus on the real issue here—project Seren just took a whole different turn. “It’s fine, really. I can handle Seren. But I’m going to, ah, get my stuff and clean up.”
“Of course, yeah.” He moves left when I move right. Seb steps right and I shift left and then it happens.
Our feet hit a slippery patch of goo, and before I can do anything, our limbs are flailing as though we’re in some stupid romantic comedy.
His hands grasp my hips tightly and he spins us right before we hit the porch with a hard thud that knocks the air from my lungs. Well, Seb hits the porch. I land on top of him.
He lifts his head, his expression worried, and time stands still. Our faces are an inch apart. He exhales, and I breathe him in greedily. Sharing air has never felt so intimate before.
“Sorry,” I whisper.
He brushes a wet strand of hair from my face. “Me too.” His voice is soft as his thumb slides over my chin and across my bottom lip.
My heartbeat grows claws. Each rapid thud against my chest cavity slices through years of walls.
“Je-sus. What the hell happened here?”
The voice comes out of nowhere, and I scramble to my feet—or attempt to. Our limbs seem to fuse closer together the harder we fight to break apart. Leo and another man stand at the bottom of the steps, surveying this mess.
“Stop.” Sebastian growls low in my ear, and once again, my body obeys his command.
His hands fall to my hips, then he lifts me over his body as though I weigh nothing and places me on my ass beside him. He stands before I’ve even blinked, then his big hands wrap around mine and he lifts me up.
“So, it’s like that, is it?” Leo says with a chuckle. “Someone’s going to have their hands full this week.” He steps closer—not enough to be inappropriate, just near enough to study my face in the moonlight. “Are you okay? Your face is really red. Did you hit your head?” He glances over my shoulder at Seb, then back to me.
“Did you get hurt?” Seb growls.
