Page 71 of Crossing the Line

That’s when I kiss her. I kiss this feisty, sweet, bird-flipping girl, and when I pull away, she’s staring at me with wide eyes.

“Claire,” I say again, and this time she doesn’t talk over me.

Still looking a little dazed, she goes, “Hm?”

“It’s my turn to ask a question.”

62

Claire

That kiss made me almost forget about the game entirely. A kiss from Aiden is bound to make me forget most things actually, because once he kisses me, all I can think about is him doing it again.

Letting out a small sigh, I say, “Okay, fine. What’s your next question?”

Aiden’s blue eyes turn dark as he looks at me. We’re still so close, and all I can think about is his mouth on mine.

In a low voice, he finally says, “What do you want from me?”

I don’t answer right away. The question alone is enough to make my heart race, but I also can’t think straight.

Tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear, he says, “Just tell me what you want.” His fingers trace behind my ear and down my neck, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake. “Do you want me to be a distraction?” His hand dips under the water as he slowly teases the length of my spine. My back arches at his touch, bringing us closer, and a familiar heaviness settles between my thighs. His blue eyes stay locked on mine as he quietly says, “Want to use me to forget?” Gripping my hip, he slides his thumb under the hem of my swimsuit bottoms, and my heart jumps to my throat.

Swallowing, my voice comes out barely above a whisper. “I thought you didn’t want to be my rebound.”

Cupping my thighs, he pulls my legs around him. I can feel him getting hard against me, and it only makes it more difficult to focus. “I don’t,” he says, his nose skimming mine. “But seeing her today gave me some clarity. I was wrong about her—about what I thought we had. It made me realize that with you...” His voice trails off, but his eyes stay glued to mine, making it impossible for me to look away.

“What?” I ask, barely breathing. I know by her, he means Sam, but I have no idea how his last sentence will end, and it’s killing me.

He lets out a breath of laughter. “With you, I’ll take whatever I can get.”

Wrapping my arms around his neck, I tighten my legs around him. There’s so much going through my head right now, but I seem to have forgotten how words work. I can’t help rocking my hips against him, my body knowing how it wants to respond before my brain has caught up.

Aiden sucks in a breath, and his hands grip me harder, blocking my movement. “Don’t do that.” But the way he says it makes me only want to do it more. He seems to read my mind, and prompts, “Answer the question.”

My words come out sounding breathless. “I don’t know.”

His eyes pierce into me. “That’s a copout.”

I can’t help looking down at his mouth.

I know that I want to bite his bottom lip. I know that kissing him makes me feel more alive than I thought a kiss could make me feel. I know that when I saw him talking to his ex, I was jealous.

And I know that I want to be with him.

The realization makes my eyes snap back up to meet his, and I find his pupils blown, the black swallowing nearly all of the blue. “Okay,” I somehow manage to say, “I know what I want.”

His jaw ticks slightly like he’s nervous. “And?”

“And I want to hear you say it first.” My gaze quickly dips to his mouth again before registering the slight lift of his eyebrow.

“You already know what I want.” He kisses me just under my ear, and my breath catches. “I want you.” He kisses my neck, the feeling of his lips hot and heavy in light of the cool ocean breeze. “All of you.” Moving his lips to the other side of my neck, he kisses me again, sending another wave of electricity down my spine. “And I don’t want to share you with anybody else.” He waits a moment before pulling away to look at me, but by the time he does, I’m already nodding.

“Okay.”

Placing a hand on my cheek, he smiles at me, and it’s a genuine smile that makes those dark blue eyes almost sparkle. “Okay?”

Instead of answering him, I take his bottom lip between mine. The sound he makes into my mouth sends my hips gently rocking again, and this time, instead of telling me to stop, he parts my lips further with his tongue. He tastes like day drinking and summer, and it’s my new favorite combination. His palm cups my breast under the water, and even though I still have my bathing suit on, my entire body tingles at his touch.