Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 103754 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103754 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
His eyes flare into a full blaze of fury when he lands on Sosie again. “I expect you inside in five minutes before I handle this situation differently.” He storms back into the pub, taking out his little man’s anger on the door by yanking it open.
She stares at the back of him as if she can comprehend the warning. She glances at me, and there’s no lingering confusion in her eyes. She seems set on whatever she’s decided with that mischievous glint in her eyes. That’s the spirit—a bit wild, a little rebellious, and not taking anyone’s shit—I remember from years ago.
When it’s just the two of us again, feeling a lot like it’s us against the world, I ask, “What happens now?”
The light I remember, which made her eyes shine like gold, returns, and she shrugs. “I could eat. Are you hungry?”
That’s my Spark alright. “I am, but I need to do something first. You game?”
With a smile blooming across her beautiful face, she replies, “For anything.”
CHAPTER 17
SOSIE
Keats stops at the top of the stairs, pulling me up with him as if there was no way he’d leave me behind. Maybe my huffing and puffing behind him from dashing through the kitchen to avoid the other party, then racing up the stairs in heels, tipped him off that I might need assistance. Either way, I’ll take his hand, even if only offered as a sweet gesture.
Caught between two events that neither of us wants to be a part of, the dark hallway is quiet, isolated from the world, leaving us alone together, even if only for a few seconds. I lean against the wall with our hands still holding tight to each other. My breath comes fast, so I loosen the coat I’d snuggled around me to get more air into my lungs. My breathing doesn’t even with the gap between us tightening.
“We didn’t even say hello,” he whispers.
"No." I can only manage a half-hearted smile under the circumstances because a hello isn't what I missed about him. This closeness is. The heat from our proximity starts to consume me, and his musk brings back a trail of memories with it, reminding me of kissing him until my lips swelled. A hope I don't deserve rises like the sun, illuminating the horizon like a new beginning. “We didn’t.” The words are breathy, wanton for him in ways I shouldn’t feel, but I can’t pretend he doesn’t affect me. It’s not only my body that betrays me, but my soul longs for this man I’m not sure I’m allowed to have. With so much of our past controlled by others, what happens to us when we’re given back the power to decide?
Do we fall together or apart?
Is this our time to figure it out?
I can’t help but hope it is.
Resting one hand high above my shoulder, he tilts his head to the side for his eyes to latch onto mine. The tip of his tongue slips out to drag along his bottom lip while his gaze lowers to my mouth. When a heaviness in his lids causes them to dip closed, he scrapes his teeth across his lip.
The internal anguish he seems to be fighting is painted across his features. Brows pulled tight over narrowed eyes. One heavy exhale that tickles across my skin. Even my swallow is too hard. My heart racing, but I dare to reach forward, resting my palms on his chest. His eyes open, and his expression eases when he sees me again. “You’re real,” he whispers no louder than a taken breath, and when he leans in even closer, my eyelids flutter closed as the butterflies in my stomach awaken. I want his lips on mine again so badly, to feel the passion we once shared again, even if only for the briefest of kisses.
I can feel the heat of his breath on my forehead, my own catching in my throat in anticipation. But when I expect to feel him press to my skin, I don’t. Opening my eyes, I can see his lips were so close to landing before he stopped himself. His eyes are still closed as if he’s debating, but when he takes a sharp breath, he pulls back, and says, “I’ll give you a proper hello later. I promise.” It’s a promise of more to come, but I can’t stop missing the kiss that almost was. “And hey, we won’t stay here long.”
“We can stay as long as you want.”
A smirk plays at the left corner of his mouth when he pulls back, looking at me with something wild in his eyes. I feel the same inside. Looking up at the ceiling, he chuckles in disbelief. “Trust me, this party isn’t what I want right now.”
It’s not where I want to be either, but celebrating his achievement is worth the pause in whatever is building between us.