Page 104 of Beautiful Sinners

His lips take mine with urgency, and it’s like I’m both falling and flying at the same time, a feather at the mercy of the wind. As soon as I open for him, his tongue slips inside on a quiet moan that could have been from him or from me, maybe from both of us. I expect his kiss to be hard and demanding, but Constantine devastates me with softness, delving deep to tangle his tongue with mine, then gently sucking and pulling, before sinking into me again. Every stroke causes my body to tense and twist until I’m practically squirming underneath him.

I whimper from the loss when he pulls back just far enough to flutter butterfly kisses over each eyelid and the tip of my nose.

“I love the way you kiss me,” I profess, entranced by him.

Clouds pass overhead, casting shadows on us as Constantine delicately brushes his hand down my scarred arm before replacing his fingers with his mouth, and those phantom tingles return. I know it’s psychosomatic and in my head, but it doesn’t make the sensations of his lips on my scarred skin less real.

“And I just love you,” he eventually replies.

CHAPTER 36

By the time my last class of the day dismisses, I’m exhausted and barely able to string two thoughts together, so it shouldn’t be a surprise when I barrel straight into someone as soon as I exit the lecture hall.

“Oh, my gosh, I am so sorry,” I apologize, quickly looking up—only to meet agitated hazel eyes behind black-rimmed glasses. “Oh, hey!” I say when I realize it’s Evan.

“Why didn’t you call me? Andie said you left and came back here.”

Getting out of the way of the mass exodus from class, I move to the other side of the doorway.

“I don’t have your number.” Which is the truth, but with so much going on since I got back yesterday, I also completely forgot.

“I called you, several times.”

The strap of my backpack rubs against my shoulder where the bullet grazed it. It hasn’t bothered me at all until now. Switching my bag to the other shoulder, I waggle my replacement phone at him.

“Constantine gave me a new phone. What’s your number?” After he rattles off his digits, I text him and hear a notification chime from his back pocket. “I was heading back to the house. Want to walk with me?”

His rigid posture visibly relaxes. “I have a major assignment due that I haven’t even started. I was going to the library, but I wanted to check on you. Proof of life.”

His lopsided grin has me impishly rolling my eyes. “Don’t expect me to send you selfies.”

“I wouldn’t mind if you did,” he replies.

That sounded almost flirtatious, but I brush it off as him being playful. Evan has a friendly and open demeanor, kind of like Tristan, but nowhere near as cocky.

“Have you spoken to your father or Alana today?”

Evan leans a shoulder against the wall. “Spoke to Dad this morning. Why?”

“Just checking,” I reply.

I still can’t believe Alana hung up on me.

The hall has mostly emptied out, making it easier to hear one another. The acoustics in the building are horrendous, same as the lecture hall. Voices reverberate and bounce off one another. Sitting in the back of the auditorium, it was hard to understand the professor, especially when the girl in front of me wouldn’t shut the hell up the entire class. I got an earful about the blowjob she gave to someone at a frat party this past weekend. Probably the same party Raquelle said she went to.

Pulling up the picture I took with my phone, I show it to Evan. “Is he one of yours?”

My hand gets trapped under his when he raises my phone higher. “Yeah. That’s Ian. Christ, he’s not very inconspicuous, is he?”

“With those shoes, no.” I laugh and pull free from his grasp.

“Come on. Since the library is on your way…” He trails off as he pushes from the wall and starts walking toward the front doors.

I catch up with him just as he asks, “Did Hendrix tell you that Patrick is back at the estate?”

Trundling down the steps, my head cocks sideways, so I can see his face better. “I doubt Hendrix knows. What is Patrick doing back there?”

A couple of girls sitting on the grass wave, and I know it’s not me they’re waving at. Evan holds his hand up in acknowledgment, but otherwise, doesn’t stop to chat.

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