Evie pushed me, trying to knock me off balance. "I didn't ask you to do that!"
I caught her arms and used the momentum to spin us around. I pinned her to the car, my body flush against hers and my mouth an inch from the rain that ran in a thin stream over her lips. "I didn't ask to give a shit about you, either," I almost shouted above the din.
"If you cared, then you wouldn't yell at me," she shot back, her voice catching.
The roar of my blood in my ears reached a fever pitch, drowning out reason. Why did this hurt so much? I hadn't asked to fear this deeply. I hadn't asked to have my heart nearly explode from my chest when I saw those men advancing on her. I hadn't asked to feel anger so hot it turned my blood to molten lava. I framed her face with my hands, my fingers digging into her wet hair. "Whatwillget through to you, then? Hm?"
Her eyes searched mine, her lashes damp with moisture and her lips parted. Her breath hitched again, uneven, and her cheeks went peony pink. She pushed herself up on her tiptoes and touched her lips to mine softly. Tentatively. With her mouth against mine, she whispered, "You did, Benjamin." Her nose caressed the side of mine like she was consoling me, like she saw the depth of my insanity and wanted to soothe it. "You did. I'm sorry."
That deafening rush of emotion, the banging tempo of my heartbeat in my ears, took over entirely. I crushed my lips to hers, holding her face steady as she gasped in response. Rainwater and sweet alyssum filled my senses, and I slid my lips along her open mouth, swallowing her gasp and coaxing her into a kiss. She relented, her fingers grabbing my soaked shirt and her body melting into mine.
My body buzzed with relief, practically vibrating from the contact, and I deepened the kiss, slipping my tongue along hers and relishing the warmth of her responding moan. She kissed me hesitantly at first, like her thoughts were still her own, likeshe still had a functioning prefrontal cortex. But I was lost to it, and I'd be damned if she didn't succumb to the same hazy lust that was clouding my own decision-making.
I traced her lower lip, biting it briefly before changing angles and capturing her lips in a teaching, slow kiss that had my blood sizzling again. Only it wasn't anger, now. It was a need to consume her, to peel her wet clothing from her body and have her in every way imaginable.
I was so engrossed in her soft curves and kisses that were slowly increasing in passion that my brain didn't register the footsteps on gravel. From a good distance away, I heard a loud, "Eugh!"
Evie jumped, pulling away from me and looking to the side. In the distance, Tessa stood there in bright red rain boots and a yellow umbrella, her face distorted with revulsion. Evie gasped and pushed me away. "Tessa!"
"Helck," she gagged.
"Tessa, it's not—" Evie started.
Like hell it wasn't. I circled Evie's waist, pulling her against me, and shut the car door. "Kid, this is a grown-up situation. Go back to your house."
"Oh, gross," Tessa grimaced.
Evie turned to look at me with a hint of reproach. "'Grown up situation,' is kind of gross."
"I'm scarred," Tessa howled, clapping a hand over her eyes and turning to go back to her cottage. "I'll never see again."
"Tessa, it'snot," Evie insisted.
"It is!" I shouted back. "I kissed her. With tongue."
Tessa writhed as she ran away. "I need counseling. I have PTSD."
Evie glared at me. I grinned. "Should we get out of our wet clothing?" I asked.
"That was a mistake," she said with a point. She marched off to the house, and I followed, smiling. All my anger had been replaced with brain-numbing lust, and it feltgreat. Or, at the very least, it had soothed some of the adrenaline and given it an outlet. I was still angry with her—she should have been more careful. But she was out of danger now. I was sure we'd need to regroup with Remington and debrief the encounter. He seemed to have some knowledge about what was going on with some of the game's players.
But she had kissed me.Shehad kissed me first. The chemistry between us had been undeniable for days, but I'd held back out of deference for our positions, out of a need to keep things neutral and safe for her. But she'd comforted me. Kissed me. And my God, had it shaken me. It was the kind of kiss that had my head floating and my chest aching.
She'd said it was a mistake. As I followed her inside, I had to wonder: had it been a mistake to get caught, or had it been a mistake to kiss me? There was only one way to find out, and I wasn't the kind of man to sit on the sidelines and pine. Either she wanted me, or she didn't.
Chapter Fourteen
EVIE
I ran upstairs with my cheeks flaming, like I'd face-planted in Tajín and inhaled some of it for good measure. What the hell was wrong with me? I had kissed Benjamin. I had kissed him first, and then when he'd taken it further, I hadn't done anything to stop him. I could still feel the hard bulge of his erection against my stomach, still taste the rain and coffee on his lips. I had started that, and even worse, I didn’t regret it.
Why had I even done that? Fear? No, it wasn't fear that had compelled me to do that. I had been afraid at first, yes, but strangely, as soon as Benjamin had shown up, most of my fear had drained away. More than anything, I felt intense relief that we were safe. And gratitude. And… oh, God. I liked him.
As soon as I was upstairs and out of sight, I ripped off my soaked crop top and whipped it to the ground, pacing. I wasn't interested in men. I'd decided a long time ago that the awkwardness and risk from having sex with men simply wasn't worth it. The half-assed “lovemaking” I’d experienced in college had dissuaded me of any interest in that. Or so I'd thought. But then why was I aching between my legs, hot and flushedand tingling all over? I didn't remember that being part of the equation last time.
"Evie," Benjamin said from the foot of the stairs.
I turned around, my arms going to my wet bra like he'd walked in on me. "Wh-what?"
