Page 73 of Cherry Beats

“This place is impressive. You know you hit the big time when you get a pad like this all to yourse—”

His hand circled my arm, tugging me, and spinning me around until I was in front of him again, pressed up close with not an inch between us. His hands moved to cup my cheeks and push through the edges of my hair.

“Don’t do that,” he breathed down on me, all whiskey, smoke, and peppermint. “Don’t make small talk with me.”

“WhatshouldI talk about?”

“How pissed I am at you. How mad you make me.”

“You wouldn’t be looking at me like that if you were still mad at me.”

“Shh.” His thumbs brushed over my cheeks, his attention falling to my slightly parted lips. “Cherry red hair, green eyes, pink lips, perfect teeth, and a tongue that I want to spend forever tasting,” he whispered as though he was talking to himself. “Fuck, those green eyes. I’ve missed them.”

I blinked wildly.

“Everything seems clearer when I look at you,” he breathed.

“Presley…”

“Don’t go, Cherry,” he begged on a whisper. “Don’t leave me tonight.”

“I’m right here, rock star.”

Those words set his eyes alight before he leaned down to gift me with the softest kiss we’d ever shared. My head was tilted to one side, and Presley never let go of my face as the two of us moved together slowly—two lovers reunited after a lifetime of being a world apart.

Two nights. We’d only ever spent two nights together.

Two people. Why did it feel always like we were meant to be one?

Our kiss picked up pace, and I found myself pushing up on my toes to get closer to him. My hands roamed, sliding down his biceps and falling to his bare chest, where they palmed every inch of his smooth, defined stomach, and waist. His body was so warm that I wanted to bury my head beneath his leather jacket, curl up, and stay there forever—to find my hiding place in the rise and fall of every muscle he possessed.

I embraced every stroke of his tongue, every taste of him, and every brush of his mouth over mine. I couldn’t help the low, lustful moan that escaped me.

Presley pulled back slowly, leaving me with a swollen, open mouth, my face still in his hands, blinking up at him.

He shook his head. “I can’t do this.”

My heart plummeted into my stomach.

I tried to step away from him, but he held me in place. “No,” he said calmly. “No more running. I meant, I can’t do this again if you’re just going to fuck me and leave as soon as it’s done.”

“Fuck you andleave?” I repeated. “That’s never happened. That’s…”

“Cut the shit, Cherry. You left the first time, and I left because you wanted me to the second time. There isn’t going to be a third time if you can’t guarantee me that you’re not going anywhere afterwards.”

“I’m here, aren’t I?”

“Why? Why are you here?”

“Because I want you, and I’m fucking sorry, okay? Sorry for thinking I could make all this go away—make you go away!”

“I need more than that.”

“More?”

“More,” he mouthed; his jaw tight.

“You want me to beg?”

---