Red: Burning Desire (Spectrum Series Book 7)

by Allison White

  “Fine.” I drop her hand and scoot over to her. I push her hair to the side and gently kiss her shoulder. She sighs but doesn’t tell me to stop. Her skin smells like bar soap and strawberries. I bite the base of her neck softly.

  She giggles, pushing my face away. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s not nice to bite people?”

  “Nope. My parents gave me free range to bite people,” I joke and kiss her neck. A moan leaves her mouth, and she wraps an arm around my shoulder. I smile against her and whisper, “So beautiful,” against her skin.

  “Then you should be taught that people bite back,” she murmurs before tackling me to the bed. I gasp and stare up at her laughing with her eyes pinched shut. She’s straddling me now, mouth colliding with mine. I feel sparks of heat slide under my skin. I will never ever stop loving the way her lips mold to mine and how fire tickles my senses. I hold her hips and hold in a groan, not wanting to wake Ty and his girl, as she teasingly rubs herself against me.

  My head rolls back as she nibbles on my lower lip. Kisses, teases. And lets it go. I lick it, where it’s no doubt going to turn red and swollen in a few hours. But until then, I’m marking her too.

  “C’mere!” I exclaim in a hush before flipping her onto her back in one swift move. I nibble at the soft skin on her neck, and she giggles in my ear. She yelps and writhes against me but doesn’t try to break free as I bite her neck. Then kiss it. And liiiiick it—

  “Gross! What? Are you a Pomeranian?” she groans.

  “Maybe.” I chuckle and do it again, and again, and again—

  “Noah!” she screeches, her complaining turning into earthy laughter. I stare at her as I plop kisses all over her. Forehead. Nose. Chin. Cheeks. “Noah! Stoo-oop!”

  “Yes. Please. Noah. Shut the fuck up!” Ty grumbles from his side of the room.

  I blush as it sinks in that he’s in the room with us. It makes me want to get my own place for the sole purpose of making her laugh and squeal my name. And maybe other purposes…but this one alone, for the time being.

  “Sorry,” I say and drop onto the bed beside her.

  “Don’t stop.” She sounds annoyed as she faces me.

  I chuckle as I reach down and pull the covers over our bodies. “But you were just begging me to. Sounded something like—” I clear my throat and raise my voice several octaves. “Stooooop! Noah! Oh, stoooop!” I add a little sass and raise my pinky.

  “Oh my God, shut up.” Her laugh is rumbling and contagious, because I join her, further pissing off my roommate. Seriously, I think I should get my own place…with her.

  Whoa there, buddy. You’ve only known her for a little over two months. Calm down, my realistic subconscious commands.

  You’re right, I tell myself. I don’t know what I was thinking.

  “Hey.” She brushes hair out of my face, her features cutely scrunched up. “What’re you thinking up there?” She taps my forehead, and I lean into her touch, resting my forehead against hers. She smiles against my lips.

  “You,” I whisper, kissing the inside of her wrist.

  “Well, then…” She kisses me softly, gently, then pulls away. “Stop. ’Cause I’m right here.”

  “Not leaving my side?” I melt into her lips, giving little, slow pecks.

  I feel her suck in a breath and slowly shake her head. “Not anytime soon.”

  Cupping her cheek, I whisper, “Not ever…” My eyes flutter shut, exhaustion creeping into my peripherals. Her body is so warm and flush against mine, feet entangled. I think I smile. I also think I hear her respond, but I’m too far gone to hear her.

  ***

  I wake up a few hours later feeling very hot. Way too hot. And there’s something squishing my face, adding pressure. And adding…and adding…And—am I being suffocated with a pillow? Is Ty finally killing me because he found out I ate the last pizza in the box last week? I thought I didn’t leave any evidence pointing toward me, but criminals always leave behind a fingerprint.

  “Red?” I mumble against the fabric of the pillow. It’s yanked back, and I’m met with Red smiling down at me like a serial killer gifted a brand new set of shiny knives. Only her choice of murder is a pillow.

  “Should I be worried about you suffocating me? Or the fact that Ty isn’t doing anything about it?” I glance wryly at my roommate, who merely waves his fingers at me jubilantly while munching on a cupcake. I shift my attention to Red, who’s smiling and lowering the pillow slightly.

  “Get ready. I wanna go to IHOP. I’m hungry as fuck,” she says, beaming.

  “Okay, but only if you agree not to provoke the security guard.” I crack a teasing smile, and she scrunches her nose and hits me with the pillow again. She seems lighter, almost like she’s on drugs…I don’t even want to ask, shatter her energized state. I have to admit, it’s concerning, to say the least. But also really cute.

  “Shut up. And we should go to the one on…” She stops and shakes her head, smiling. “I forgot, you’re a newbie to the town.”

  “Sorry that I was in Venice, Italy, a few months ago.” I laugh, and she watches with fascinating eyes.

  “You a traveling boy?” She sits next to me, fingers feather-light against my knuckles.

  I smile, while she looks so focused. “Something like that.”

  “Where have you been?” she asks and rests her head on my shoulder. My heart hammers against my ribcage at her PDA move. Ty left a while ago, but that doesn’t matter. She’s comfortable enough to hold my hand, lean against me. I feel a sense of victory as I rest my cheek against her soft blonde hair.

  “You name it, and I’ve camped there,” I tell her.

  She pauses. “Paris.” She taps my pinky on my left hand.

  Curling the finger answers her, and we continue on with cities all over the world. When we’re down to her own, and I tell her there’s more, she looks up at me with amazement and wonder and…sadness.

  I brush a hand against her cheek. “What’s wrong?”

  A solemn smile sweeps over her beautiful face. “Nothing,” she lies, and I quirk an eyebrow. I think I know her enough to know that it isn’t “nothing.” And she seems to read my mind, because she sighs and looks at the door, causing my hand to lose its grip on her face. “I’ve just never been anywhere exotic or anything like that. I’d love to go to Tokyo or Milan…I’ve dreamed of traveling since I was a kid. But we never had the funds for even a bus ride to a state outside of Washington. So I gave up the dream and took on countless jobs to help out.”

  I don’t say anything for a while as I reflect on her words. I can imagine a young Red: dressed in pastel dresses and bows, eyes brighter than the future. With a map glowing with multi-colored tacks in cities all across the massive globe. There’s a look of adventure and passion driven in those eyes…but then reality hits and she realizes she can’t even step foot out of her home. I want to grab her hand and steal her away to Seoul, or Dubai, or even Paris. Where, in this time period, I shower her with tiaras and the most expensive dresses and tell her she can have it all.

  I fall back into this world, and a sense of protectiveness I already had for her surges to a great amount. Every fiber inside of me reaches out as I reach for her face. Slowly, I tug her to face me. Her eyes are elsewhere, her breathing shallow. I want to take her to places she’s dreamed of setting foot in. I want to shower her in silk and diamonds, and I want to make her happy. Her being happy is all that matters to me.

  “I’ve been all around the world, and it’s glamorous…” I pause and run a thumb across her bottom lip. “And it’d be damn lucky for you to venture out and discover it all.”

  She scoffs incredulously. “Maybe someday.”

  “Whenever that day comes, I want to be by your side.” I’m serious, and I watch her intake a sharp breath. She looks like she wants it too, to have me hold her as we overlook the Northern Lights. They are breathtaking in pictures but even better in real life. I was with a group of the natives, the people who lived nearby, bu
t I wanted someone that meant something to me by my side. Smiling and laughing the same way I was.

  I close my eyes now and lean my forehead against hers. “I always want to be by your side,” I confess in a whisper. I picture her gloved hands intertwined with mine. Her golden hair in the wind, cerulean eyes matching the blue hue flying through the air above us. Weaving and entertaining and so, so…beautiful. But I want beautiful next to me, under my arm, smiling in the same cold air as me.

  “Noah,” she breathes against my lips. I lick mine, and she shudders as it swipes against hers.

  “Tell me you want me,” I say. I want her. Want her so bad. But not in a sexual way; I do, trust me. But I mainly just want to be near her. I want her to be…mine.

  “Noah,” she says again, as if it’s the only thing she can say without spilling what she truly desires to say. “I want you too. I want you more than I should. But I’ll just hurt you.” Her voice cracks and, when I pull back, her eyes are glossy. There’s something behind them that makes me shudder, but I push it away and crack a smile.

  “There is no way you can hurt me. Not when I…” Love. “Like you so much.”

  Something in her face breaks, but a smile overtakes her face. “I…I like you a lot too, Noah.”

  My heart soars.

  “You do?”

  “Yes.” Her eyes laugh, and her mouth does too.

  I rush forward and swallow the heavenly sound. I cup her face, and hers rests on my shoulder. Our mouths drop, sighs are heard, and I smile against her full pink lips. The kiss is smooth and gentle. The fire is sizzling under our tongues, against my fingers cradling her face, but it’s low and not the great amount it usually is when we kiss. Touch. Glance. I can never get tired of these lips. Ever.

  A knock and a small gasp, “Noah,” breaks us apart.

  Rachel is standing at the door, sheepish and jittery. “Sorry for…” She pauses and clears her throat. “Can I speak to you for a moment? Please?”

  Red’s hands curl into a fist.

  “No. I think he’s good here.” Red’s tone is harsh. It even makes me cringe. I try to figure out why she’d be harsh toward someone as sweet as Rachel when I remember that Rachel wrote her off when she came to the house on Halloween. I remember the pleading look in her eyes when I pulled away and chased after Red. As usual. The girl’s so sweet, she doesn’t deserve it—me.

  “It’ll be quick,” I tell Red, and she frowns at me. I kiss her nose and flash her a smile, admiring her tinted pink cheeks. I let her fingers go and get off the bed. I walk outside and gently pull the door, leaving it open a crack. When I face Rachel, she’s staring up at me with a nervous expression. “What’s up?” I ask her.

  “The art contest,” she says.

  My throat tightens. “What about it?”

  “Entries expire tonight at midnight,” she informs me and pauses. “I thought I could help you with yours. I already sent mine in, but I know you’ll win or at least come close to it. If you just try.”

  I let out a sigh. “Look, I don’t think it’s a great idea. I already have my hands full with the football team and studying and—”

  “Just give a try. You’ll regret it later if you don’t,” she interrupts me.

  I don’t say anything because I know she’s right. Art is my passion. It always has been and always will be. To be the prodigy of that man would be a huge accomplishment. Just thinking of what he could teach me, to help improve my techniques, makes me shudder in excitement. My parents can lock me in a cage of textbooks, and I’d rip them to shreds and make origami.

  But am I good enough?

  The door being dragged open and revealing Red holding up brushes she must have stolen from my art supplies interrupts my pessimistic thoughts.

  “What are you—?” I begin.

  “Shut up and get in here.” She grabs my hand and tugs me inside the room. My bed is pushed up against Ty’s. As I turn to face her, she’s locking the door. I hear a barely audible sigh and squeaking shoes outside the door when Red walks up to me and pinches my arm.

  “Ow! What was that for?” I yelp and rub my aching skin.

  “I overheard you and Rebecca—”

  “Rachel,” I correct her, and she pinches me again. “Ow! Red, that hurts!”

  Rolling her eyes, she continues. “And I want you to enroll in that contest.” I blink rapidly and look away. I won’t last under her gaze, and she seems to catch on, because she reaches up and forces my eyes to look into hers. “And I want you to win. But you won’t be able to do that when you act like a pussy. You have real talent. So take these damn brushes and make something spectacular and win. You idiot.”

  “Thank you.” I smile at her words even though she half insulted me and pinched me. Twice. Hard. But she has a point, and I can see how much she wants this for me in those dazzling blue eyes of hers. She cares about me, for me. Even though she tries to appear invincible and hard, she’s extra-soft and almost…loving toward me.

  My heart soars because of this beautiful, amazing girl before me. And I cup her face and bend down, forehead against hers. “I’ll do this if you help me. By my side.”

  She stares into both of my eyes, and her chest lifts, a smile overtaking her face. “I’d just fuck it up.”

  “Passion, my love, is what art represents. You don’t need to practice it for years to make it. Just gotta have a passion for it.” I pause and thumb her lips, feeling her shallow breathing between them. “What do you have a passion for?”

  “Being honest?” she says.

  “Always.”

  “You.”

  Soaring, crackling, burst—my heart is in flames.

  “Then, Red Sylvetti, assist in the making of my masterpiece.” I step back, holding out my hand, and bow my head.

  She hesitates, says, “This is so stupid,” but takes my hand nevertheless. I drag her over to my art supplies and pull out my paints. All colors of the rainbow, some unique shades. I find a blue that reminds me of her face, and I take it to the sky of my mural.

  “This is gonna be your enrollment piece?” she questions as I finish one piece of paper of the seemingly hundreds as companions.

  “Yep. I don’t have much time to paint your body naked,” I murmur, and her small hand pumps mine.

  “Perv,” she claims, but I hear a smile in her voice.

  “No fair. Jack Dawson did it with Rose, and he was considered a swoon-worthy guy,” I joke, and she stands closer to me, watching me. I feel subconscious of my work overall. It really is kind of impressive, but that opinion’s kind of biased, don’t you think?

  “How long did it take you to do make this?” she asks as she dips her brush into a lilac color. She is hesitant to put it on the paper, almost as if she’s afraid of messing it up.

  “A night and half a morning, I think. Don’t really pay attention to time when I’m doing things like this.” My voice comes out mumbled as I focus on filling in a boy riding his bike down a market lane.

  “It’s gorgeous,” she murmurs.

  When I take a peek at her, she’s staring up and looking at every paper that flows onto another. Some overlapping, others perfectly symmetrical. Up close it looks realistic. And with each dab of color, the people come alive and it breathes.

  “I know,” I whisper.

  She looks at me and blushes. “Shut up.”

  “Okay.” I shrug and move to painting a hot-air balloon. Silence fills the room, and she squirms next to me, still holding up that lilac brush. She’s frowning and glancing at me, letting it sit just above the paper. She’s waiting and glancing, and finally, she sighs and punches me.

  “Say something, idiot,” she commands.

  I laugh and look at her. “You just told me to shut up.” She is so confusing.

  “Yeah, well, I didn’t mean it.” She turns to a paper of the park, and she bites her lip, then huffs out and backs up, holding up her hands. “I can’t do this.” Turmoil and doubt creep onto her face, tug at her lips. I wal
k over to her and hold the hand that’s holding the brush.

  “You just gotta have the guts to put the brush to paper,” I tell her, pushing her hand forward. It touches the paper, and I feel her suck in a breath, hold it as the brush leaves behind a dob of lilac. “Like that.”

  Her head turns, and something electric passes between our eyes. My heart thrums like crazy, and I wonder if she can hear it. I brush a tendril of hair behind her small ear, and she smiles slightly. I smile back and lean forward. I wish she could be kept by my side forever. Whenever I am around her, my stomach clamps up and I look at her too long to appear sane. My skin tingles and my fingertips buzz with a fiery need to just touch her.

  She turns around, and the tip of her brush hitting my neck makes me reel back. “Sorry.” She laughs and covers her mouth.

  I narrow my eyes playfully, drawing my brush out to her like it’s a sword. “Did you just declare war, Red?”

  “I mean, if you’re totally up for defeat.” Her lips slowly dip into a mischievous grin. The light and childlike being in her dance in her eyes, and I watch in complete and utter awe.

  “I think you mean the other way around!” I lunge after her and swipe my brush against her chin. She shrieks and makes her move. I dodge and pick her up, spinning her around. And as we dash for ammo and paint each other’s faces and clothes and hair and the mural, I realize I am falling for this girl. Hard.

  “Okay! All right! You’re getting paint in my ears!” she shrieks, digging her finger in her ear. Her nose is crinkled, and all I can do is admire how colorful and exploded with red cheeks and a glowing smile she looks.

  “Fine.” I chuckle and nod to my bed. “Help me move it so we have more room.” I walk over to the bed and she nods and, together, we push the heavy double-size bed out of the way. “Get the other side,” I suggest when it’s well away from the wall. It weighs like steel, but I don’t want her to hurt her back. I’ll handle it on my own for her.

  “Aye aye, Picasso,” she teases and rushes to the other side. I jokingly roll my eyes at her nickname for me and pull. I know it’s too late since the bed’s moved and there’s paint all around the room, but I hope Ty isn’t planning on using the room today.