by Danah Logan
My chest constricts, and I fully angle my body toward her. "What are you talking about, babe? Why not?" I clutch her hand; a different type of anxiety now slowly builds up.
She pulls her hands away from mine and starts wringing them together in her lap. "Because to everyone else, we are related."
Oh. Ohh. That’s what she’s worried about. And I thought she was going to break up with me before we even started dating. I take her hand back in mine and try to sound calm and reasonable. "But we’re not. Never have been. We’re doing nothing wrong."
She finally makes eye contact. "I know, but we are the only ones that know. Besides Den and Wes, I mean..." Another pause. She tilts her head to the side. "By the way, what did you tell Wes?"
I turn one of her hands over and start rubbing my thumb over the heel of her hand, slowly massaging the fleshy part. Her entire body relaxes under my touch, and she melts into the couch with her head leaning against the back of it.
"I told him the truth. What happened to you, why you’re here, how I feel, and that...he is back. Wes knew that something was up. He noticed the change in you, too." I laugh to myself. "I guess our friends are more perceptive than we gave them credit for."
She smiles and turns to me as I continue. "As for what we are...that depends on you. I told you how I feel, and that won’t change. But I understand if you are not ready or would rather not—"
"I love you."
I’m about to launch into a full-length explanation that I understand if this is all still too weird for her. I mean, it’s only been two months since she found out that we’re not related. Wait. What she said sinks in, and I stare, open-mouthed. Her look changes to something resembling concern. "Say something!"
All I can do is mumble, "You love me?" I’m gobsmacked. Never in a million years would I have expected those words to come out of her mouth. Sure, there has been hope that maybe one day...
Lilly must see that I’m having a hard time believing that I heard her right, because she repeats herself more confidently. "I love you!"
She loves me. Holy fuck. She. Loves. Me. My grin spreads so far my cheeks start hurting. I pull her into my arms. "Come here."
She moves to her knees next to me, wrapping her arms around my neck. Her head is burrowed in my shoulder, holding on tight while I nuzzle her neck. The scent of vanilla and coconut makes every nerve ending in my body come alive. I whisper into her hair, "God, you have no idea how long I have waited for this."
The cocky horndog has officially left the stage, and the whipped lovestruck fool has entered. If Wes were to see me right now, I would hear about it until the end of time.
I feel her smile. "You still haven’t answered my question."
I chuckle. My arms wrap around her waist and squeeze tight. "You are mine. You always have been—even if you didn’t know it at the time—and always will be. And if you want to put a label on it...Lilly Ann Calla McGuire Sumner, will you be my girlfriend? Please check one of the below three boxes. Yes, no, maybe." I pretend to write on my palm to make light of the situation—and to not feel like a complete pussy.
Lilly makes a sound between a laugh and a squeal and almost chokes me in her hold. This girl has some serious strength. She gives me one last squeeze and settles back to sit beside me, smiling to herself. I lift my arm, and she cuddles into my side, holding my other hand between hers.
Before turning back to the TV, she glances up with flushed cheeks. "I’d like that."
We must’ve fallen asleep, because the next thing I know, I blink open my eyes, and the clock on the wall reads 11:12 p.m.
We’re slumped together on the couch, covered with the throw blanket. Lilly’s arm is hooked around mine, our hands interlaced, with her head resting against my shoulder and my head on top of hers. Realization of where we are shoots through me, and a flood of adrenaline makes my heartbeat increase. Thank God Dad is gone, and Mom usually never comes back down once she’s settled for the night.
I slightly lift my head from hers and, without thinking, place a kiss on her hair. "Babe? I think we need to get you to bed." Before anyone finds us.
Lilly grumbles something incoherent and snuggles closer, angling her face upward. My eyes immediately zero in on her pink lips. I stare. And stare some more. That’s when I notice the change in her breathing, and her lips part. I move my gaze upward and see her looking back and forth between my eyes and mouth.
My breath hitches; this is it. I can’t hold back any longer. With my pulse thrashing in my ears, I slowly inch closer, continually flipping between her eyes and lips, making sure I’m not missing any sign that she doesn’t want this, giving her every opportunity to move away.
She peers back at me with hooded lids. I take one last deep breath and close the distance.
Finally.
Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. My heart is about to burst out of my chest. I’m holding my breath, afraid to move. Still in a sleepy haze, my eyes meet Rhys’s, and I know he is going to kiss me. There’s nothing but raw desire in his eyes—an emotion I’m sure my own are reflecting. I would be lying if I said I haven’t thought about it—a lot.
He touches his lips to mine, and stars explode behind my eyes. He is tentative at first, giving me the chance to move away, but I’m gone. Every cell in my body has come alive, and I can’t get close enough. Moving to my knees, I end up straddling his lap and taking his face between my hands. Rhys reciprocates by pulling me closer, his hands moving up my back beneath my shirt, burning my sensitive skin with his cool touch.
His lips are soft and firm at the same time. Until now, the kiss was careful, a gentle exploration, but the moment his hands make contact with my bare skin, something ignites in both of us. I rock myself into him, and a sound between a moan and growl reaches my ears. Was that me or him? Our mouths start moving together, and the kiss turns frantic. I’ve made out with guys before, but this... My lips part over his, and his tongue slides in without hesitation. Rhys nips at my bottom lip, and in return, I press my entire body into his, the friction bringing my core to life. His hands glide up my spine, and I have the urge to clench my thighs together. We’re both panting, and I don’t want this kiss to stop. Ever.
But as soon as I think that, Rhys pulls back, and I hear myself whimper, trying to kiss him again. He touches his forehead to mine, taking a long, steadying breath.
"We need to stop." There is no backbone in his words.
"Why? What’s wrong?"
Was it that terrible? I know I don’t have a ton of experience, but—
He shifts, and his hard length pushes against me. "Babe, if we keep going, I won’t be able to stop myself. And apart from the fact that we are in the living room, I want to do this right."
"Oh." My reply is no more than a breath. Relief replaces the paranoia. I didn’t do anything wrong.
Why am I so insecure?
Rhys continues in a low tone, "I have never felt this way with anyone, and after this, I doubt I’ll ever get enough of you. Not now that I’ve had a taste." He gently nips at my lower lip again, and his voice holds a promise that makes my body grow hot all over.
Still in his lap, a girlish giggle escapes me. I barely recognize myself, but I’ve also never felt this giddy. I wrap my arms around his neck and place a kiss right behind his ear.
Rhys shudders. "That’s what I’m talking about. How am I supposed to act like we don’t speak to each other when all I want to do is this?"
And with one swift move, he tightens the hold on my waist and flips me over. My heart races as my back is pressed into the couch cushion, and he hovers above me, propped up on one elbow. An even louder giggle escapes me, and my hands fly to my mouth, trying to muffle the sound. We both look to the ceiling, waiting to hear movement, but when nothing happens, our gazes lock again. His eyes shine with glee. He is completely carefree at this moment, and I relish that I did that to him.
We stare at each other. Hiding a grin, I say, "We’ll have to be strong and do our best to ignor
e each other. Otherwise, I’ll do..." I let the sentence trail off, and Rhys looks at me with raised eyebrows.
I let the internal, mischievous grin appear on my face, and his eyes widen when I grab his face between both of my hands, wrap my legs around his midsection, and use my entire weight to pull his mouth to mine again. He lands on me with an "oof" sound but immediately opens. When our tongues start moving together this time, a deep groan escapes him. His reaction makes me wanton. I arch up, pressing my chest against his, and he rolls his hips against me in return. Heat pools in my core. Oh, my God. Still propped up on one arm, he caresses my thigh with his free hand, moving up my side and rib cage. I want him to touch me everywhere.
We continue for what seems like hours, and I can’t get enough. Rhys makes me forget all the drama and angst my life consists of these days. I lose myself in the moment. Right here, right now, we’re just a girl and a boy in love.
When the clock announces midnight, Rhys hesitantly pulls back. "I think we both need to get some rest, or we won’t fool anyone very long."
He has moved away, sitting on the edge, and I push myself up into a sitting position, pouting.
He barks out a laugh and places a kiss on the tip of my nose. "My dick is not happy at the moment, believe me. He wants to be inside of you bad." He glances down to his lap and back up to my face with a cheeky grin; my breathing instantly increases as a visual forms in my head. He continues, "All I care about is making this work for us. I’ve waited too long, and we need to figure out the other situation first."
The other situation. That’s a nice way of putting it. What other new couple deals with a child-kidnapping stalker and the whole world believing your boyfriend is your brother? He is right. It’ll take a lot for us to make this work, not just being head over heels in love.
I huff and nod. "We’ll figure this out together."
He takes my hand and places a kiss on the inside of my palm. "Together."
At the top of the stairs, we let go of each other, but before I can reach my door, Rhys pulls me toward him and places a soft kiss on my lips. "Good night, babe."
"Good night, boyfriend."
A wide grin spreads over his face, and I close my door after taking one more look at him. I lean against my door and touch my fingers to my lips. I can’t stop smiling.
Chapter Thirty-Four
I skipped my workout. I haven’t missed a pre-school workout in...no idea. I couldn’t fall asleep until after three. My mind kept wandering to a certain blonde girl across the hall. The taste of her lips, the smoothness of her skin, how her legs were wrapped around me, that hot-as-fuck little whimper she made when I pulled away. The list goes on. I had to take my second cold shower of the day after we parted in the hallway. But even after my body finally settled down, I was unable to fall asleep.
Waking up from a much-too-short night, I’m exhausted. My eyes burn like the time I helped Mom chop jalapenos and rubbed my eyes without washing my hands—fun stuff. None of that can put a damper on my ridiculously good mood, though. I catch myself humming in the shower—talk about being a lost cause. I bang my forehead against the tiled wall while letting the water run down my face.
At the same time...I. Don’t. Care. I would’ve never in a million years expected those three words to come out of her mouth. Her mouth...A groan instantly escapes me. All I want is to kiss her senseless, the taste of her tongue...My body’s entire blood flow is immediately redirected below the naval, and I glance down. Fucking great. I turn the lever back to cold and hang my head.
How on earth am I going to make it through school?
I’m putting on a white T when someone knocks on the door and opens it an inch.
"You decent?" Mom’s voice comes through the small gap.
I bark out a laugh. "Depends on what you call decent. All the important parts are covered." Boxers and t-shirt are in place; I haven’t gotten to the rest yet.
The door swings in, and Mom’s head appears. "Why are you still at home?"
Shit.
"Uh, Wes wasn’t feeling it this morning. He had a late night." I give her a significant you-can-fill-in-the-blanks look. "I figured I could sleep an extra two hours for once."
Blame it on the best friend. Why not? Note to self: make sure Wes knows about his late night.
Mom cocks her head, lips pursing. The woman has a bullshit detector that’s better than any polygraph. She knows that Wes skipping a workout has never stopped me, but for whatever reason, she drops the topic. "I’m heading out. Natty and I are picking up Gemma this morning. Her mom has an early client meeting."
Gemma’s mom is an architect, specialized in restoring the old houses in this area to their original state but adding a modern touch. She’s responsible for most of the shops and condos on Main Street, including Magnolia’s—Lilly’s favorite hangout.
"Okay, cool." I try to act as nonchalant as possible while stuffing random shit in my backpack.
Mom starts closing the door. "Don’t be late. Love you."
"Love you, too."
When she is gone, I take in the contents of my backpack. Fan-fucking-tastic. I just shoved pretty much every book from my desk in there, including a leftover paper coffee cup, my stapler, and Natty’s stuffed monkey that she left here approximately three years ago to keep me safe. I slump down in my desk chair. There is no way in hell we can pull this off. Not at this rate.
Thirty minutes later, I walk into the kitchen while Lilly is pouring hot water into her travel mug, the usual tea bag hanging out to the side. Her back is to me, and for the first time, she doesn’t seem to have noticed me yet. We’re alone in the house. Mom left about twenty minutes ago, and I can’t help myself. I sneak up to her, wrap my arms around her waist, and settle my chin on her shoulder, whispering, "Good morning, beautiful."
She squeals, dropping the kettle.
Whoops.
She spins around and whisper-shouts, "What are you doing?"
Her flustered expression has me bursting out laughing. "Mom and Natty already left. Didn’t you hear them? She needs to pick up Gemma."
Lilly sinks against the counter, covering her eyes, while I rest my hands on her hips. "No, I didn’t. I just came down. Don’t ever do that to me again!" She’s trying to calm her breathing.
I pull her fully into my arms. "I’m sorry, babe. Come here, I want to kiss my girlfriend good morning."
With that, she winds her arms around my neck and sinks into the embrace. She smirks up at me before pressing her lips to mine. "Hmmm...good morning."
Lilly parked her car inside yesterday, so I left mine in the driveway. Walking in, I press the opener next to the kitchen door to let myself out through the garage.
We stop next to her Jeep. I don’t want to let go of her, but the automatic door is almost up, and we can’t risk being seen by any nosy neighbors.
I slowly pull away, taking a step back. "What are your plans today?"
"Practice, maybe grab something to eat with Den. Why?"
I feel myself relaxing a bit. "Okay, good. I don’t want you alone until we know what that psycho has planned." The thought of her anywhere by herself has me all fidgety. I can’t be around most of the time, but that’s why I wanted our best friends to be filled in on the situation. One of us should be with her. "Maybe Wes and I can join you?"
Lilly is in the process of climbing into her car and stops with one foot in the air. "You think that’s smart? I mean, it’s one thing that they know, but if we start making public appearances together..."
She’s right, but fuck if I care. I just give her my typical crooked grin. "Just let me handle it; you worry too much."
She exhales slowly, deliberating. "Okay."
I reverse out of the driveway while Lilly is still getting situated. That’ll give me a good ten-minute head start. I know my girl—she drives like Grandma Ruth. Scratch that, Grandma Ruth drives faster than Lilly.
Pulling into my usual spot in the senior corner of the parking lot, I’m br
iefly distracted, replaying the previous night, when a shadow appears at my driver’s side door. Turning, I come face to face with Kat, staring at me with her resting bitch face commonly reserved for her female enemies.
"Jesus Christ!" I drop my backpack on the passenger seat. "What the fuck, Kat?" There goes my good mood. I stare at her incredulously before exiting the Defender.
"I want to talk to you."
I don’t.
Better get this over with; she won’t take no for an answer. I gesture with my hand for her to go ahead.
I follow Kat toward the side entrance that leads directly to the art studios. From across the lawn, Wes tracks my movement, giving me a what-the-fuck look, and I shrug.
When we reach the building, she takes a step back, as usual, expecting me to open the door for her. I don’t have it in me to argue; I want this over as quickly as possible. Kat ducks under my arm as I make room for her. Her hand brushes along my abdomen in the process, right above the waistband of my jeans, as she disappears inside. It’s a gesture that, at the beginning of our relationship, got me ready and going; now all it does is make me feel cold and dirty.
Before trailing after her, I scan the parking lot and immediately zero in on a set of furious hazel eyes. With her stance wide and hands balled into fists, Lilly is planted next to Denielle, staring back at me. She shows zero emotion on her face, but I can see the hurt written all over it.
FUCK. Shit. Fuuuck.
I don’t want to follow Kat. I want to go over to Lilly to ensure she doesn’t interpret this as anything it isn’t. But I can’t. I can’t act differently.
Wanting to slam my fist into the brick wall of the building, I give her one last look.
I hate this.
Kat waits for me with her arms crossed, and we make our way to one of the smaller art studios a few doors down.
"What do you want?"
She saunters closer, sliding her hands up my stomach to my chest. "I want you, baby. You’re just confused for whatever reason, but deep down, you know that we need to be together. I’ll forgive you for your momentary lapse in judgment."
