“In a field? Why?”
He snatches my underwear before I can step into them, stashing them in his jacket pocket.
“You’ve turned into a real deviant, King.” I shiver, wishing I’d brought a cardigan to dinner. “It’s gotten cold.”
“All of my blood supply went to my dick and now I can’t feel my hands or see colors anymore.” He ties his shoelaces. “If you ask me what my middle name is, chances are I can’t tell you.”
“Louis.”
He hauls me against his chest, chin on top of my head, and I reach up to pat his face, feeling the skin stretch with a smile. “Tell me what you’re thinking about,” he hums against me.
“I’m thinking about how good I feel. What a fan I am of your arm muscles. That I’mfreezing.” I full-body shiver. “The last time I was this cold, it was when Luna, Morgan, Trevor, and I went camping, and the floor of my tent turned out not to be waterproof. Woke up at three a.m. soaking wet.”
“I can’t imagine camping with Trevor.” Alex’s tone is grim.
“Nah, it’s a lot of fun, actually. I mean, henevercomes prepared with the usual camping equipment, completely forgets food and bug spray and all that. But he’s the first person in a situation to jump into a lake with all his clothes on, first person to explore a random cave that may or may not be safe. Never a dull moment.”
“AndMorgan,” he adds dryly. “Camping with Morgan, mm?”
“Oh, don’t be jealous, we’re just friends. Besides, I’m sure you’ve been camping before. You know there isn’t anything sexy about mosquitoes and the smell of dead fish in the air.”
“It would still be sexy for me,” he says, eyes sweeping my face. Regarding me like I’m a star that fell to Earth and crash-landed in his backyard. “Name any condition, and I would still want to be all over you.”
“Okay. Imagine we’re in a sewer.”
Alex barks a laugh. “Yeah, sure. Bring a few candles and the dripping water sounds could almost be romantic.” He taps my nose. “Nobody makes me laugh like you do. You know?”
I do.
“Remember when it started to rain while we were doing the scavenger hunt?”
His eyebrow lifts a fraction. “Yeah?”
“You were looking very delicious, and I was mad about it. I wanted to lick the raindrops off you.”
Alex’s hold on my waist tightens. He blinks, leaning away slightly so that he can gather his bearings. “Wow. That is... that is hot.” He pauses. “I would not have stopped you, if you’d tried. I wanted to kiss you so bad, Romina. It was physically painful to hold myself back. Even in the bakery, when you were trying to antagonize me, I would’ve happily had my way with you.” He gestures, envisioning it. “Rolling all over the cupcakes.”
I take it a step further, trying to make him smile again. “I would have mauled you on Lovisa Coe’s grave.”
Success! His roaring laugh makes me swell. “With Millicent Halifax watching.”
“She needs new material to gossip about, anyway. And it might scandalize Lovisa enough to get her to stop disrespecting everyone’s windows. She loves to slam them.”
He toys with my hair, my necklace, the strap of my bra beneath my shirtsleeve.
With our sexual frustration blunted, I think we’ll climb back into the truck, but he grabs me by the hips, straddling me over his thigh. Kisses me slowly.
“I like this,” he murmurs. I can tell it costs him to admit it. That he’s afraid of my reaction, maybe a little bit afraid of me.
“What took you so long?” I reply, and he punishes me with a nip of my earlobe.
Kissing Alex is unbelievable, in more ways than one. I’d thought the Alex chapter of my life was long-closed, never dreamed I’d have his skin on mine again, feel the brush of his mouth.This is right, this is rightechoes neon in my bloodstream. My palms coast up his jaw; his eyes shine, heart jumping. I can see traces of the boy I fell in love with, but the man he’s grown into has spun my heart like a top. He’s so good at handling me, it’s scary. I might be a little afraid of him, too.
The break in our timeline hasn’t dulled what we had together. If anything, it’s left me ravenous.
Chapter Twenty-Three
PRIMROSE:
