I pressed into him harder, making sure there was no more room for talking. Only kisses. That’s all I wanted.
But that wasn’t true. I wanted more.Waymore.
It was too much.
It wasn’t enough.
Hot.
Heavy.
Terrifying.
Wonderful.
Wild.
Frantic.
Everything I’d just told Brook and Anna felt like a lie because all I could think was how I wished we were horizontal instead of vertical. And that we were somewhere more private. I untucked the front of his shirt and placed my hands, fully palmed, against his rock-hard abs. He shuddered and then came back even harder. A growl purred in his throat. Before I knew what was happening, his hands hooked around my thighs and I was off the ground, my legs snaking around his waist, locking him in, drawing him to me. He pinned me against the wall and I gasped for air, my head dizzy, my heart thundering.
Stop!
Absolutely. Do. Not. Stop.
You are out of control. Rein it in!
Abort! Abort!
All!
Systems!
GO!
Someone swore behind us. I swore in my head.Madden. My heart dropped at the same time Ashton set me on the ground with a thud. Then he stepped back, looking stunned. At me? At himself? I wasn’t sure. I couldn’t see over his shoulder, and truth be told, I didn’t want to.
Without him wrapped around me, the cold air hit like I’d taken a head-first, full-body plunge into a pool of ice water. What just happened? I was like a wild animal attacking her prey. I hugged myself, mortified.
I peeked up at Ash, wondering what he must think of me. He wiped his mouth, looking completely sideswiped. But then his eyes anchored to mine and there was a fire there that said whatever happened next, he didn’t regret it.
Did I?
“Tally?” Madden’s tone was livid. No, hurt. Definitely hurt. As he should be. “Are you kidding me right now?” His voice cracked. He was about to cry. Or kill someone.
Ashton stepped to the side and Madden came into view. Holy crap. I winced. It wasn’t just Madden. It was Anna, Blue, Ford, and Holden too. Each wide-eyed and open-mouthed.
“Found ‘em,” Holden breathed, looking like he’d been hit with the shock of his life.
Ford glanced at Holden, not looking shocked at all. “You owe me fifty bucks.” They’d made a bet? Then he looked at Ashton. “Damn, big bro. I didn’t know you had it in you.”
“Shut. Up.” Ashton tried to destroy him with his eyes.
Any second now, Madden was going to tackle Ashton. It was all over his face, in every muscle of his tensed body. So I stepped in front of Ash as a shield of protection.
The click of a camera sounded behind them, blinding me. “Smile.”
Everyone turned. A member of the paparazzi was grinning at our group. His camera flashed again. My hands went up to my cheeks, wishing I could hide. Panic filled my lungs. With Ford right there, we were all about to be in the news.
