Page 119 of Bad Wolf (Wild Men 4)

I sit up in bed. “Where are you?”

“Outside.”

“Outside, where?”

“Your house.”

No frigging way. Jumping out of bed, I rush to my window, open it, push open the shutters and look down.

And there he is, in the garden below, his face a pale oval in the light from his phone. He glances up and grins, his teeth glinting white.

For someone who’s had sex with this guy several times already, I feel strangely like a girl on her first date, all jitters and excitement churning in my belly, and a sense of wonder.

That he’s here. Right here, outside my window. That he wants to see me.

I gesture at him to go to the door, and I rush downstairs to open it for him. He fills the opening with his height and broad shoulders, and I’m struck speechless while he gives me one of his crooked smiles. His eyes crinkle at the corners.

A blast of cold wind hits me, ungluing my tongue from the roof of my mouth. “Come on in.”

“You sure?” He looks past me. “Is your mom inside?”

“Mom’s on a date.” At his confused look, I grab his hand and pull him inside. “She’s not here. And even if she were, she’d want you to come in, so there.”

“Okay, okay.” He laughs as I close the door and turn to face him. It’s a dark, delicious sound that tightens things deep in my belly and sends a throb between my legs. “What about your brother?”

“In his room, listening to music.”

“You and him, you seem to like doing that an awful lot.”

“We do. It’s our escape.” I tug on his hand, trying to ignore the need to wrap myself around him like an octopus. “Would you like some dinner? We have leftover meatloaf and pasta.”

“No. I just wanted to see you.”

Aw shucks. I should pinch myself, see if I’m dreaming. With the way my dreams have been going lately—with Jarett in them, lots of Jarett—it wouldn’t surprise me.

“You want to watch a movie? Or maybe—?”

“I wanna lie down with you,” he says, stopping me. He drags me to him and cups my face with one big, strong hand. “I wanna hold you. Like last night.”

How could I ever say no to that?

This boy has my heart, and now he’s making sure nobody else can ever have it.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Jarett

The moment we’re inside her room, I take her in my arms and bury my face in her neck, where she smells so sweet. Tonight was shit, really shit, and I had to see her. Couldn’t fucking help myself, bad idea or not.

Her arms wind around my back, and she rises on tiptoes to kiss me. I fall into the kiss, kissing her back with all I have. Freefalling. That’s what it feels like. Flying among starbursts and fireworks.

Everything fades—my landlord cursing when I told him I can’t pay the rent on time, Sebastian’s sneer, Angel’s glare, the seedy bar we spent hours in while Mav negotiated a deal. The knowledge I’m sinking deeper into wrongdoing and crime.

Here all that can’t reach me. I can leave it outside the door, and heat spreads through my bones when I think she likes me. She wants me. Nothing makes sense in my life right now, except for this.

I walk her backward to bed, all my thoughts about just lying down with her fading at the feel of her body on mine, her taste on my tongue.

I need more. Nothing can save me tonight, except her body. I need to sink into her, lose myself inside her.

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