Page 70 of Eat You Alive (Court Legacy 4)

He didn’t say, his head tilted. He backed out of my airspace eventually, but I found myself edging into his. He frowned. “What?”

I didn’t know what, but I did see myself getting closer. Wolf let me and didn’t move an inch when I grabbed his shirt.

Nor when I pressed my mouth to his.

He froze, of course, stilled. He had his hands up like he didn’t know what to do, but he didn’t have to do anything.

I was directing this, his lips full and hot beneath my mouth. Eventually, he let me coax my way inside, and a zing hit my body when our tongues brushed.

Christ.

I’d kissed Wolf before, but it hadn’t been like this. He’d forced it and basically treated me like a feast he had to devour. It’d been hot too, but it hadn’t been intimate. Well, not like this.

A noise rolled from his chest as I deepened it, but I noticed he didn’t grab me back. He just let me kiss him, and his eyes were closed when I pulled away.

“What was that?” His voice had lowered an octave, his pupils dilated. He wet his bruised lips. “Red?”

I touched my own mouth, warm. I shrugged. “I guess I just figured we should practice.”

“Practice?”

I nodded. “We’re dating, right?” And a part of me wanted him to know it was okay, what we’d just done. He said I was directing this. “We can kiss. It’s okay, and I just… I guess I wanted to let you know that. We can kiss, and it’s cool.”

Though, I didn’t know why. Maybe it was all the sentimental shit he was doing for me. Shit like this bus and letting me sleep on him.

Lengthy digits touched his mouth too, his grin wiry. “Doubt we’ll be making out in front of my folks.” He edged forward, a breath away. “But thanks for the consent.”

I thought he may kiss me again, and my heart hammered at the prospect.

He didn’t, though. But he did take my hand. We were doing that by the time we entered his big-ass house, and he said the driver had already taken our things to our rooms. Apparently, I got my own room, and I honestly didn’t know what to expect. I could have easily gotten a couch to lie on, so yeah, having my own room would be cool.

We heard laughing once inside and didn’t make it past the foyer that led to a large staircase. It was one of those statement staircases like on the Titanic and opened up the entire room more than it already did. A glistening chandelier shined above it, and two people in athletic clothes were beneath it. The couple literally looked like an ad for The North Face, and I recognized them both.

Wolf’s parents were gorgeous, much like their kids. His mom had her hair up in a low ponytail, her windbreaker matching Wolf’s dad’s. Mr. Mallick was dressed in black down to his sneakers, his hand in his pocket. The other arm was around his wife, and the two stood there laughing by themselves. It was quite sweet actually. His mom was in hysterics at whatever Wolf’s dad had said.

Of course, they noticed both Wolf and me when we came in, and we were immediately showered with greetings.

“Dad, this is Red,” Wolf introduced me as, and his family always did get a kick out of the nickname. I really did used to hate that.

How much had changed. I shook Mr. Mallick’s hand, but when I referred to him as that, he told me to call him Ramses.

“Mr. Mallick is my father,” he said, his arm returning around his wife. Apparently, Mrs. Mallick was themayor,which was something Wolf had warned me about on the way in.

The power this guy had.

It was everywhere and in bounds, and I tried not to be intimidated by it. I wasn’t poor, but my background certainly wasn’t his.

The house was filled with an array of smells, many in fact, and I was informed staff was preparing dinner. I was told the first thing the family did when Sloane and Wolf came back home was go for a hike, which was why his parents were dressed in such a way.

I wasn’t too keen on a hike, but if that was their family tradition, I was game for it. Especially since they were letting me stay for a whole weekend.

Wolf had warned me to pack something to move in, and that his family was athletic. He said they liked to run and do hikes together, so I had prepared for that.

I didn’t feel as bad about sleeping in the bus when I found out Wolf’s parents were waiting for Sloane and Dorian to get dressed for it. Dorian was coming too and had a room in their house, which didn’t surprise me. Wolf had said they were brothers.

It was all a lot to take in. Especially when we did hit the trails behind their house. I’d overhead from his folks they normally drive to some of the better ones in town, but that didn’t seem like the case today.

And so, Wolf struck again.

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