I chuckled low. “You love it.”
“I feel some type of way about it,” she agreed.
Pulling back enough to look down at her, I smiled softly. “I’m proud of you, sunny.”
She rolled her eyes. “I got the award for saving your life, so you would be.”
I shook my head. “No, it’s more than that. I mean, yeah, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now if you hadn’t done everything in your power to keep my heart beating that day, but that’s not the only reason I’m proud of you.” Letting her waist go momentarily, my fingertips danced down the length of her arms, pulling them tighter around my neck. Bringing her closer. Then I ducked my head so my lips were against her ear. “After your assault, you could’ve taken a different path.” She stiffened slightly at the mention of her rape, but didn’t pull away, and I pressed forward. She needed to hear this, and I’d needed to say it for a long time. “You could’ve let it dictate your entire life. You could’ve let it ruin you. Instead, you became the kindof person anyone can turn to in their time of need because they know you won’t let them down. You are the strongest person I know, Sutton, and you make me a better man because of it.”
“Lane,” she murmured, my name leaving her mouth on a breath that tickled my throat.
Lifting my head, I looked down at her again. Her amber eyes were swimming with emotion, open and honest andraw.Shining with hope.
I wanted to reward her bravery.
Bringing my thumb to her bottom lip, I brushed against the curve, dragging it to the side. Some of the bright product there rubbed off on my skin.
“This is some fuck me red lipstick, sunny. You wear this just for me?”
She grinned. “Maybe.”
“You gonna let me mess it up?”
“Are you asking if you can kiss me?”
“Yes.”
Sutton glanced around at the room full of the who’s who of Dusk Valley. “People will see.”
“Let them.”
And I dropped my mouth to hers.
The laws of the universe dictated that the world kept spinning, but it did so without us, because my entire existence halted when our lips met.
I’d gone over fifteen years without this, but I had never forgotten the way she tasted. Sweet and fresh, like pure sunshine in human form. After a few seconds of chaste contact, I tilted my head, changed the angle, and took Sutton deeper.
She opened for me on a gasp, and I slipped my tongue into her mouth, brushing against hers. She met me stroke for leisurely stroke, hands finding the nape of my neck, fingers burying in my hair with a slight tug.
I groaned against her, fingertips pressing deeper into the flesh of her hips. I wanted to consume her, to mark her, to make it obvious to everyone within and beyond these walls that Sutton Rausch belonged tome.
Sutton let go of my hair, hands sliding down to my chest, fisting briefly in the lapels of my jacket before applying slight pressure—pushing me away.
I detached myself with a groan.
“Why’d you stop?”
“We can’t get carried away, Lane. Not now, not…here.”
Unashamed, I lifted my head and opened my eyes, finding almost everyone in the room staring at us, even as the band played on, oblivious to their loss of attention.
The song ended, and she stepped out of my arms, hand surreptitiously covering her smeared lipstick.
“This isn’t over.”
She smirked. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Then she walked away, Aspen meeting her halfway as she beelined for the bathroom.
