She made a broken little sound that went straight through me.
Her hands slid up my chest, over my shoulders, curling into my hair. The soft tug of her fingers nearly undid me. I pressedher harder against the shelf, caging her between my arms and the solid wood.
Her back arched, her mouth parting for me.
She tasted like want, and fear, and the hope she didn’t dare believe in.
I kissed her like I could take all of that into myself.
As if I could hold it for her.
My hands moved—one anchoring her hip, the other sliding down her jaw to the dip at the base of her neck.
Mine.
I didn’t say the word aloud but it echoed inside my chest.
I felt like it’d been hollowed out and filled with nothing but the sound of her breaths, the warmth of her body, and the feel of her trembling against me.
I wrapped my fingers around her throat, the gesture possessive and tender. I did not squeeze, but I felt the thrum of her erratic pulse. I hesitated, giving her time to pull away, but she didn’t. My thumb stroked the side of her neck up to the base of her ear. She shivered so violently I had to grip her hip to keep her steady. Her hands fell to my shoulders, nails biting into my skin as she pulled away for too long a moment.
“Graham…” she whispered. “I want—you—”
She didn’t finish, but she didn’t need to. She had me. All of me.
I was completely fucking lost in her.
The books, shelves, and the entire world disappeared.
There was only her.
Her lips found mine again, slow and reverent now, as if she couldn’t decide whether she wanted to consume me or worship me.
I didn’t care which. As long as I had her.
Her mouth was still clinging to mine when my phone buzzed in my pocket, a harsh, jarring sound that did not belong in thismoment. It didn’t belong in the sanctuary of her body pressed against mine or anywhere near the way she was kissing me.
I ignored it. At least, I tried to.
But the vibration kept going, insistent and relentless.
Some of the haze started to clear from my brain. My phone was set to silent. I always had it on silent during group meetings. The only numbers my phone would ring for were my brothers’.
Ice slid down my spine.
Slowly, I pulled back, pressing my forehead against Quinn’s. I didn’t want to let go of her yet. My hand tightened around her waist, holding her there for one more second.
The phone buzzed again.
“Fuck.” I exhaled. “I have to answer.”
Her fingers were still curled around my shoulders, like she didn’t want to let go either.
I didn’t step away or break contact. I didn’t even lower my hand from her throat.
Relinquishing my hold on her hip, I pulled my phone out of my back pocket, still close enough that I could feel her chest rising against mine.
Her lips hovered a breath from my own, pulse fluttering under my thumb.
