She wants me. I can see it written all over her face.
I look at her nose, the beauty mark on her cheek, her eyelashes. Everything about her is fucking pretty.
“You’re staring,” I whisper.
She blushes harder. “So are you.”
I reach out and tilt her chin back toward me.
“Don’t,” I say quietly.
“Don’t what?”
“Hide from me.”
She swallows and nods.
I look at her lips again.
Fuck.
Chapter Twenty-One: Tigerlily
I want him to kiss me.
But he’s just looking at me. Observing. Waiting.
Like he needs me to be the one to make the move.
I’ve kissed a boy before. Once. Behind the gym at a football game in high school. Some boy who meant nothing to me. It was before my life went to shit, and I haven’t thought about kissing a boy ever since. The kiss lasted three seconds and tasted like gross beer. But I’ll never forget Matthew Green.
But this is different.
Callum is different.
He’s easy to be around. Not brooding like Jax or intense like Zephyr. Everything about him is charming—the way he smiles, the way he talks, the way he looks at me like I’m the only person in the room.
For a second, I wonder if I’m just another girl to him. If I’m one in a long line of girls who’ve been in this exact position.
Then I realize I don’t care.
Because right now, I want to kiss him.
I lean up slowly.
His breath catches.
The moment stretches, longer than what feels safe. My heart’s pounding so loud I’m sure he can hear it.
Then I press my lips against his.
The world stops.
His lips are soft. Softer than I expected. I taste salt and him.
He deepens the kiss. His hand moves to the back of my head, fingers threading through my hair, pulling me closer.
His tongue brushes against mine.
