Page 108 of Our Darkest Summer
I could feel it; she was close, trembling, her body wound tight around me.
“Come for me, Sage,” I murmured against her skin, my lips dragging down her throat, my hips meeting hers in a slow, devastating rhythm. “I want to feel every part of you.”
Can you feel every part of me?
She clenched around me, tighter, drawing me deeper as her moans turned into soft, gasping cries. God, she was unraveling—and she was taking me with her.
“Kinsley,” I panted, my voice desperate. “Look at me.”
Her eyes fluttered open, her gaze locking onto mine, and something in my chest cracked wide open. She whispered my name again, softer this time. Like she was really seeing me. Her hands slid up my back, her touch grounding me as I lost myself in her. My grip tightened around her waist, pressing her closer.
I’ve got you. I swear to God, I’ll never let anything touch you again. Not like before. Not ever.
“I’m here, Sage,” I murmured against her swollen lips.
But more importantly, she was here.
My movements turned erratic, the tension coiling inside me reaching its breaking point. She gasped, her body arching as she shattered beneath me, her nails digging into my back as she cried out my name. The sound unraveled me completely. My vision blurred, my breath caught, and I groaned, my release crashing through me as I buried myself in her warmth, lost in the only place I ever wanted to be.
Our breaths tangled in the quiet, the only sound was the faint, unsteady rhythm of our chests rising and falling together. My grip on her waist softened, my fingers tracing slow, lazy circles against her skin as the heat between us faded into something softer, something weightless.
I pressed my forehead against hers, still buried deep inside her, grounding myself in the warmth of her body, the steady pulse of her heartbeat against mine. She steadied her breathing, her fingers brushing through my damp hair, her breath hitching slightly as I trailed my lips over her jaw, her cheek, until I found her mouth again.
“You’re here,” I murmured against her lips, like I was reminding myself just as much as her.
Kinsley exhaled softly, her arms tightening around me. “I’m here, Thomas.”
???
We lay on the warm sheets, our limbs tangled together. I played with a strand of her hair, curling it around my finger as I tried to form the words that had been burning inside me formonths. The things I had never said before, the things I had almost lost the chance to say.
“Have I ever told you why I prefer the Scorpion over the other constellations?” I breathed. She turned to look at me, shaking her head, the brown of her eyes sprinkled with green. I swallowed.
“It reminds me of how no one is really alone. That we all have someone out there, shining bright red like the Antares, filling the gaping hole in our chests.” My voice died, my heart thundering. “Do you remember—” I closed my eyes, calming my pulse. “The Halloween party?”
She blinked, her brows creasing. “Of course I do.” Then, after a beat, “Why?”
“It was the first time you wanted to talk to me,” I smiled, twisting a strand of her hair around my finger.
She smiled too, rolling her eyes. “Yeah, well, it was the first time you didn’t bother me.”
I huffed. “I couldn’t leave you alone.” I brushed over her flushed cheeks, inhaling the faint scent of vanilla and sex that lingered around her. “You were too interesting.”
She closed her eyes, resting her head in my palm. “I think it’s time you knew, I enjoyed your attention,” she breathed, and my brows rose.
“You don’t say?” I asked with pretend surprise, and she rolled her eyes, smiling even harder.
“Still do,” she breathed, and for a moment, I just stared at her like some love-sick puppy. God, I was pathetic. Her smile wavered. “Was this a mistake?” she asked, her eyes searching mine.
My throat tightened. I shook my head. “The past few months? Yeah,” I said. “This? You? Never.” I swallowed. “Not for me.” My chest heaved with all the things I could no longercontain. The words grew heavier on my tongue. “It was so easy to love you, Sage.”
She blinked, her eyes rounding. Then she opened her mouth, but I stopped her, brushing my thumb over her lips.
“Back at school… now,” I whispered, my voice raw. We were crafted from the same stone. Two parts of a whole. “You are smart, fierce.” Her eyes glistened, tears clinging to her dark lashes. The words started to pour out of me. “I’ve loved you in every moment of this past year. Every miserable moment. And I’ll keep loving you, even if you don’t love me back. Because you’re what keeps my heart beating. You’re the force my life was missing before I met you. I never should’ve let my father take that away, and?—”
“Thomas,” she breathed, her voice barely a whisper.
“When I wasn’t with you, I was looking for you. In every hallway, every room.” My heart pounded so hard it hurt. “Every second I wasn’t near you, I felt like I was drowning. This past week, tonight. I?—”
