Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 65643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 328(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 219(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65643 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 328(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 219(@300wpm)
“I’m just not a party guy,” I said shortly.
“Then why did you come at all?”
“I told you why.”
“That’s a bullshit reason.” Destiny’s fingers closed on the edge of my cape. “You act so strange around me, Garrett.”
I stopped and turned on her. The frustration in her eyes matched what I’d heard in her voice. “I know I act strange around you.” I lowered my head and pitched my words for her ears only. There was a thick fog rolling down this part of the set, blurring and obscuring faces, but it made sound echo in a funny way. Though no one was next to us, once in a while I’d hear a laugh or a snatch of conversation as though it were right in my ear. “That’s why I’m leaving.”
“What if I don’t want you to leave?”
She put the words out there as if they really were a question. Like she was testing it out. Like she had no idea what they did to me. My fingers flexed. I wanted to reach out and show her exactly why she should want me to leave, but there were people everywhere. Even if no one was paying attention—it was too risky.
I bit off an oath and, keeping my head low, grabbed her hand. I led us out of the main lot and down a shadowy side street until I found an open door that led into what looked like a prop room. We were surrounded by fake guns of every size, but at least we were alone.
“You can’t say shit like that.” I dropped Destiny’s hand and took a step back. “If anyone heard, they’d get the wrong idea.”
“You mean they’d get the right one,” Destiny corrected. “You kissed me, Garrett.”
“It was a mistake.”
“A huge one, but it happened, and—” Destiny bit her lip. She was a good actress. She knew when to let her eyes do the talking. Right now, they were the only spot of color in this dim room and they were telling me what she couldn’t bring herself to say.
She wanted me to make another mistake.
It was almost enough to break my self-control.
“Aren’t you with Andrew now?” I asked harshly. “The pictures I saw of you two in NYC looked pretty damn convincing. Made me believe you two were the real thing.”
“They were supposed to.” Destiny’s chin came up. “Don’t you remember your own plan?”
“I never told you to stick your tongue down his throat at Nobu or let him grope you in Barneys.” My fingers curled into fists, remembering.
Fire flashed in Destiny’s eyes, and her chin came up. “You told me to make it believable, and I did. That doesn’t mean I’m really with him.”
Then stop letting him fucking touch you, I wanted to say, but instead, I went into asshole mode. “Maybe you should be.” My voice came out ice cold, the opposite of how I felt inside. Inside I felt like I was boiling alive.
Destiny blanched, then hot color flooded her cheeks. “Maybe next time I go to New York, I will be.”
She turned on her heel, finally mad enough to walk away and leave me to whatever ghosts or goblins were sure to come out of the woodwork in a place like this.
It was what I wanted her to do.
It was what she had to do.
I was going to let her walk away.
I was—
I caught up to her just as she got to the door and slammed it shut. The smack of wood into wood echoed like a shot. Destiny whirled around, still furious, but before she could sling words at me like bullets, I pushed her back against the door and covered her mouth with mine.
Underneath my hands, her shoulders were still rigid with anger, but her mouth softened under mine immediately. Her lips parted, and I wasted no time. I dove into her, my hands in her hair, my tongue finding hers, probing her, exploring her, tasting her. And she was kissing me back, exploring me, tasting me with an almost shy curiosity I didn’t understand. Her hands were tentative as they slipped beneath my cape. I had the sense she was exploring me. The gentle brush of her fingers was driving me mad. I kissed her harder, knowing that if we stopped, we would give reason that sliver of space it needed to widen between us. I didn’t want reason. I wanted to take her right here, right now, on the floor of this haunted prop house.
My fingers followed the teeth of the bodysuit’s zipper to the top and found the tiny pull at the nape of her neck. Fumbled, then managed to tug it down a few inches. Destiny’s hands had been gripping my waist, but suddenly she pulled back.
“Wait–we can’t do this here,” she whispered, as though what we’d done so far had been so chaste that if someone had walked in on us, it wouldn’t have been calamitous.