I clench my eyes shut to rid the thought from my brain.
Shit.
[ 19 ]
CROSS
I can’t stop thinkingabout that damn fucking kiss.
She took me by surprise. Thelastthing I expected was for her to rise up on her toes and press her lips to mine. And, yeah, I lost myself for a moment. I allowed myself to treat her like someone I can kiss anytime I want—as someone Iwantto kiss whenever I want.
Then, naturally, it got fucking awkward. Scarlett was embarrassed at her impulse.
I was just trying to get my dick to stop throbbing.
I was also pissed at myself for indulging in that.
Has there always been some underlying lust toward her? Now that I think about it…yes. But what’s a guy to do? Force himself onto his stepsister that loathed him from the moment she saw him? That’s something her dickbag ex would do. Not me.
No, instead you bully her into doing your homework.
I run my hand over my face.
The crazy thing is that I want to kiss her again, and I don’t want to stop. I picture it, the slide of her lips on mine, and the little whimpers she’d let out, and my dick stiffens. I ball my hands in my sheets, refusing to touch myself.
Fuck, this is stupid.
I’ve been trying to sleep for ages, but all I’ve managed to do is replay that kiss while staring at my ceiling.
That’s it. I’m done.The best way to get rid of a song stuck in your head is to just play it, so that’s what I’m going to do.
I push the blankets off and swing my legs over. The cold floor wakes me up even more. I slip out of my room and across the hall, not even pausing to consider Scarlett’s shut door. If she really wanted me out, she’d lock it. Probably.
We’re about to find out.
It opens on silent hinges, and I step in. Her room is darker than mine–I think she’s hung up blackout shades–but an old-school digital alarm clock on her nightstand gives off a red glow and faintly illuminates her silhouette.
I cross to the side of her bed and let my eyes adjust. Her hair is in two braids, and she’s sleeping on her back. Her lips are slightly parted.
This is a wicked temptation.
I reach out and touch her lower lip.
“Scarlett,” I whisper.
She shifts a little.
“Scarlett.”
Her eyes flutter open, and I withdraw my finger before she notices I was touching her. My heart squeezes and picks up speed when she registers me and doesn’t immediately panic.
“What are you doing?” she asks, her voice groggy.
I pull at the blanket covering her, and she automatically shifts aside. Not one to waste a perfectly good silent invite, I climb into the bed and get close to her. I want her to be awake. I need her alert for this moment, because I’d feel like scum if I kissed her when she was sleepwalking or some shit.
“I’m gonna kiss you,” I tell her.
She slow-blinks. When I don’t move, she sucks her lower lip between her teeth.
