Page 32 of Born Reckless

But hunger flares in my stomach as my eyes rise over his chest, the valley that trails down to disappear beneath those trousers.

And he stares up at me with heat in his own eyes. There’s his own kind of hunger. There’s a predatory gaze in his eyes.

“You’ve been driving me insane all day, Juliet,” he growls. His chest heaves as he heavily breathes in and out. “How the hell am I supposed to get any work done with you sitting beside me looking like that? I can’t keep my eyes to myself.”

Intense rebellion rises up inside of me. It’s an all too familiar feeling. But it’s never been laced with intense attraction and desire. I take one step forward, and then another.

There is a tiny voice screaming in the back of my brain, one that says I cannot do this when my best friend just asked me not to.

But when do I ever get what I want? When has what I want ever wantedmeback?

I stop just in front of Mason, and every bit of me loves how his heady gaze rakes up over my entire body. Gently, I raise one hand, and cautiously, I touch the tip of my middle finger to the center of his chest.

Frantic electricity jolts through my body.

Slowly, I raise that finger. Slowly, I allow my entire palm to flatten against his skin. I hear his pulse double in speed. He lets out a low growling sound and he covers my hand with one of his own.

“Thirsty?” he asks. His voice is seductive and mind-melting.

I take in a slight breath, and at the thought, my throat burns. I nod just slightly.

Mason’s hands drop to my waist, and I can’t keep my own hands away. One comes to rest on his chest, the other slides up the side of his neck.

“We can’t fall in love,” I say, my voice too husky.

Mason’s breath heaves in and out, his eyes burning as he looks down at me. “Who said anything about love?”

A wicked smile begins pulling on my lips. I feel my fangs elongate in my mouth. “You’re pushing your luck, Mason. You have no idea how good you smell.”

“I’ve never been afraid of a little bit of danger,” he says, the words causing his chest to rumble.

“I don’t know how far we can push my self-control,” I say, a sliver of hesitation creeping up inside of me. “We can’t take this too far.”

He can’t even find the words. Mason simply nods his head and pulls me closer.

And knowing I’m going straight to hell, I pull him closer, and I sink my fangs into his neck.

Chapter Seven

I don’t kill Mason.I don’t climb into bed with him. I don’t even kiss him.

It’s the weirdest, hottest physical relationship I’ve ever been in.

This one is about blood and touches and sneaking around behind his sister’s back.

I told Mason what Elena had said. For a whole minute, he stared at me, silent. It was obvious there were a million thoughts racing through his head.

But in the end, he’d simply repeated, “Who said anything about love?” And then he’d run his hand up my thigh, the hunger in his eyes deepening. “What Elena doesn’t know won’t hurt her.”

It made me feel like the world’s worst person. Elena was my best friend, and I was doing exactly what she told me not to.

But there was the problem. She told me not to. Like she had any right to tell two adults what they could and couldn’t do.

Two days later, she left for a business trip to Atlanta.

And over the course of the next week, I didn’t do those three things. I didn’t kill Mason. I didn’t climb into bed with him. And I didn’t kiss him.

I wade into the pool one night, looking out over the city. Cities are their most beautiful late at night when the lights come out and the noise quiets just a little. I breathe it in with appreciation.