“I’m a very hands-on supporter.” His fingers slipped beneath the hem of my shirt, finding bare skin, and I sucked in a sharp breath. His touch was warm, almost hot, tracing lines of fire across my abdomen.
I snorted, fighting to maintain composure. “That’s terrible.”
“You laughed.” His lips brushed the curve of my neck, feather-light, and goosebumps erupted across my skin like wildfire. He pressed an open-mouthed kiss just below my ear, his tongue darting out to taste my skin, and my eyes fluttered shut.
“Owen.” It was supposed to be a warning, but it came out breathless. Needy.
“Hmm?”
“I have to study.”
“I know.” Another kiss, this one lower on my throat, followed by the gentle scrape of his teeth. His hands had traveled higher, palms spreading hot against my ribcage, thumbs brushing the undersides of my breasts. “You’re very dedicated. It’s one of my favorite things about you.”
“If you know I need to study, why are you…” I lost my train of thought as his teeth grazed my earlobe, then tugged gently. A soft moan escaped me before I could stop it. “That’s cheating.”
“What’s cheating?” He practically growled against my skin.
“That. The thing you just did. With your mouth.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” One hand cupped my breast through my bra. His thumb found my nipple and circled slowly, making it harden. “I’m just sitting here. Innocently.”
“There is nothing innocent about this situation.” I reached for my textbook with trembling hands, determined to at leastpretend to focus. “I have an exam in three days. That’s seventy-two hours. That’s...” I tried to do the math. Failed. His other hand slipped lower, fingers tracing along the waistband of my underwear, dipping just beneath the elastic before retreating. “...some number of minutes. A lot of them.”
“You know what helps with studying?”
“Silence and solitude?”
“Breaks.” He pressed an open-mouthed kiss to the junction of my neck and shoulder, sucking gently, and my eyes fluttered shut against my will. His hand slid underneath my bra, cupping me, and I arched into his touch. “Studies show that taking regular breaks improves information retention.”
“What studies?”
“Very official ones. Done by scientists. At universities.”
“You’re making that up.”
“Possibly.” His hands traveled lower, palms sliding down my stomach, leaving trails of heat in their wake. His fingers played with the waistband of my panties again. “But even if I am, can you honestly say you’re retaining any information right now?”
He had a point. The only thing I was retaining was the feeling of his hands on my skin and the warm, solid weight of him pressed against my back.
I twisted in his arms, turning to face him. Our eyes locked, holding for a moment before my gaze dropped to his mouth. Those perfect lips, slightly parted, waiting.
“Kiss me,” I whispered.
He didn’t make me ask twice.
His hand came up to cup my jaw, tilting my face to the perfect angle, and then his mouth was on mine. He kissed me like he’d been thinking about it all day, like he wasdyingfor it.
I gasped at the intensity, and he used the opportunity to deepen the kiss, his tongue sliding against mine in long, drugging strokes. He tasted like mint and something darker,something that was purelyOwen, and I couldn’t get enough. I fisted my hands in his hoodie and pulled him closer, trying to eliminate every millimeter of space between us.
He groaned into my mouth, a low, desperate sound that vibrated through my entire body, and the hand on my jaw slid into my hair, gripping the strands at the nape of my neck and tugging gently. The slight sting sent a bolt of pure electricity straight down my spine.
“Harlow.” My name was a ragged prayer against my lips. He kissed me deeper, harder, his teeth grazing my bottom lip before he sucked it into his mouth. The sensation made me whimper and press closer, desperate for more.
We broke apart just long enough to gasp for air, our foreheads pressed together, breathing ragged and uneven.
“I’ve been thinking about this all day,” he admitted. “All through practice, I kept zoning out.”
“That sounds like a you problem.”
