Page 119 of Stolen Summer

His eyes darted to my mouth. “Prove you don’t want me.”

The revelation he wanted me made my heart soar, and I hated it. Don’t you dare take the bait. Of course, I fucking wanted him. Didn’t he see that was the damn problem? I shouldn’t. “Let. Me. Go.”

The attractive asshole leaned forward and murmured, “No.”

I was about to lose my mind. I was overwhelmed. It was all too much, and I stopped thinking, stopped being levelheaded and rational. Reckless Arie who gave little shits about consequences took over. I raised on my toes and took his mouth roughly. No skill. No finesse. No tenderness. Just raw, desperate, and hungry.

And I loved every second.

It had been too long, and the separation came through in the frantic moving of my lips. Wild for his taste, I shoved my tongue against his lips, parting them. The sigh that left me as his tongue met mine came out harsh. It was like fucking coming home after being gone for years. My entire body came alive. His hand snaked around my back, slamming me against him. He devoured, demanding, taking, begging, and pleading for more of me. Too much more. I wasn’t ready to give him everything.

Or anything other than a kiss for that matter.

This was a moment of weakness. I’d wanted to remember if he tasted as addicting as my dreams and memories. I needed to prove the summer hadn’t been a fluke. That the feelings had been real—he’d been real—and the tension sparking between us was still there.

It was and so much more.

And that frightened me.

What if I couldn’t stop?

That spark had ignited, setting off a wildfire within me, and I wasn’t sure I could contain it, the flames burning brighter, soaring, consuming me. Especially with his hands worshipping every curve and hollow of my body. It was as if he feared he wouldn’t get another chance to touch me and he planned to use every second of this opportunity to memorize my lines with his fingers.

I had to stop.

If I didn’t end this madness now, I’d throw away everything for him. My father. My education. My future. Crew could destroy it all, which was impossible to fathom when his lips were inciting such immense pleasure.

I ripped my mouth from his as swiftly as I had taken possession of it and stared at him with so much heat in my eyes but also so much pain and confusion. “You want to know what I want? Here’s your answer. I don’t want either of you. Touch me again, and I’ll rip off your balls and shove them up your ass.”

I swore his lips twitched a fraction in amusement, but I could be seeing something that wasn’t there. “You kissed me,” Crew pointed out huskily, and I hated what the texture of his voice did to me.

“Go fuck yourself, Crew.” I jerked away from him, going straight for the door.

“Arie,” Crew called with a firmness in his tone he used when he expected to be obeyed.

My feet kept walking despite the fracturing in my heart.

“Don’t leave,” I thought I heard him whisper, and my feet faltered, but I made it through the door. The noise level of the party came rushing back, and I tackled the crowd, focused on only the exit.

The night’s air hit me in the face. I pressed a palm to the brick wall, steadying the wave of lightheadedness. It was clear I still had feelings for him. Just what was I to do about them?

And what about him? Had what I thought he felt about me been real? Or just part of the game?

If his feelings had been genuine, could I forgive him for the past?

I thought I’d been so careful, kept my feelings guarded. I’d promised myself I wouldn’t fall for someone like Crew Riley. And yet each step that carried me farther from Crew, the more it hurt to breathe.

I’d endured various amounts of pain in my life, but I’d never suffered a broken heart. Was that what I was feeling?

Why did it hurt so much?

Tears burned my eyes, but those loitering on the porch paid me little attention. Except for one.

He would be outside. It was possible he’d been waiting for me, but after what I’d experienced with his brother moments ago, I wasn’t sure now was the time for him to approach me.

Cole did anyway.

“Quinn?” His brow furrowed into concern. “What did he do now?”