Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 80199 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80199 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 401(@200wpm)___ 321(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
The conversation took me back to our hospital days, when talking and laughing and being friends came so easily to us. Except that now, the molecules in the air seemed to swirl between us.
“I still have your letter,” I blurted out.
His eyes widened. “No way.”
“I do. I can prove it to you. Maybe I’ll show you—” The rest of my sentence was cut off by someone calling my name.
“Henners? You out here?” It was Spencer, and it sounded like he was right below us. Fuck.
Lark shifted as if about to get up or say something, so I shook my head and placed my hand over his mouth, praying Spencer didn’t hear us. His eyes widened as I hovered over him. When I removed my hand, he remained still, our breaths mingling and our eyes staying connected as we heard another couple of voices—Bones and Flash.
“Maybe he went back to the dorm.”
“Come on, let’s do more shots.”
After they left, we still didn’t move a muscle. Lark’s skin was warm, and all my longing kept me rooted to my spot. It wasn’t like he was trying to get up either.
Instead, Lark’s gaze moved between my eyes and my lips, and I’d bet he could feel me trembling against him. Christ, what was I doing?
“Henry?” His voice was scratchy as he looked at me. “Are you… Do you want to…”
I nodded emphatically as his thumb traced my bottom lip. “I’m scared. I’ve never…”
“You never kissed someone?” There was no judgment in his tone.
“No. I mean, yes. I’ve kissed girls, but never a guy…unless you count me and you saying goodbye at the hospital.”
I heard his breath catch. “It’s no different, just two mouths meeting. Do you want to kiss me?”
My breath was labored as I considered that. I did want to kiss Lark, desperately, and here he was, calling me on it. The idea of it was overwhelming, yet everything in my gut was yelling for me to take this opportunity before it slipped away.
“Yes, very much so. But I’m afraid of what it could mean.”
Okay, maybe that was too honest, but no way could anything happen between us except in private, and Lark obviously knew that.
“It doesn’t have to mean anything other than two people being attracted to each other.”
He was attracted to me? My heart was beating so hard; I thought it might explode.
I looked into Lark’s eyes as I slanted my head closer, closer still, giving him enough space to change his mind. My hand shifted upward to clutch at his nape, trying to find my bearings or maybe to make sure this was real. I just needed to feel his smooth skin, his warm breath wafting against my lips as our eyes stayed connected.
As soon as our mouths met in a gentle brush of lips, it was as if the universe had stopped spinning and everything that normally felt wrong inside me clicked into place. This, right here, was everything I’d been missing.
When Lark groaned against my lips, I felt adrift, like I was hurtling toward a black hole that would consume me. Sensation took over my body as Lark pressed his mouth to mine, then feathered his tongue against the seam of my lips. It was so unexpected that my stomach trembled.
Now it was my turn to moan as Lark’s tongue slid past my lips and met mine with tender grazes that stirred something deep in my chest.
And Lark tasted…God, he tasted like sweetness and sunshine, exactly the way I’d imagined.
Just when I thought I couldn’t possibly get enough of him, his fingers gripped my shirt, tugging me firmly against him. And it still didn’t feel close enough.
When he drew away, panting hard, he didn’t go far, keeping his hands curled against my back. I could feel the Band-Aids poking through the fabric and briefly thought to ask about them again, but no fucking way I’d ruin this.
“I knew you’d taste like watermelon.”
He smirked. “You mean like Jolly Ranchers?”
“Uh-huh,” I murmured, meeting his gaze. “But maybe I need another taste. For research purposes.” Without waiting for a response, I kissed the smile from his lips as his gaze turned to awe and pure desire.
No one had ever made me feel that wanted, and I didn’t know what to do with any of it, except touch and kiss Lark more. Some reckless part of me wanted to throw caution to the wind, to not care if anyone beyond the door could hear our panting or groans. But a small thread of worry still niggled at me, and I wanted to kiss the determination and confidence off his lips and transfer it to me. To make me less afraid.
I pushed the worry out of my head as I reached for his face and crashed our lips together in a bruising kiss. This time my tongue probed the seam of Lark’s lips, and he opened to me, more than willing to deepen the kiss.