She strokes my head a few times, holding my gaze, then expands, "I'm saying I choose you. And I don't shrink my choices to make that true. Love involves doing whatever it takes to make the other person happy. And I'll happily do it."
The devil in me stirs. He's pleased, greedy, and already rewriting the future in ways I've never allowed myself to imagine. And I'm no fool. I see the control it would take, the surrender it would demand, and the permission it would require between Blue and me.
She leans into my ear. Her hot breath hits my lobe, and I feel myself tipping. She urges, "Stop fighting, Red. I'm going to get all of you, including the parts you hide from the world."
My insides tremble. I continue breathing through my nose, forcing myself to find my center the only way I know how. I brush her hair back gently and press a kiss to her forehead.
Her breath catches.
I keep my voice calm, instructing, "Sleep. We'll talk when this isn't charged."
She searches my face for a long moment, then nods. She moves off me, settles back under the sheets, and rests her head on the pillow.
I slide next to her.
She curls onto my chest, tosses her leg over mine, and her eyes flutter closed. The barest smile stays tugged on her mouth.
I stay there until her breathing evens out and I'm confident she's asleep.
Then I sit in the dark, wide awake, knowing exactly which rule we're already breaking and wondering if Blue pulled all my morals out of me, or if I've always been consumed by the devil.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Blue
Warmth wraps around me. My cheek presses against Red's chest, and his arm lies heavy around my waist.
He doesn't want me to go anywhere!
His slow breath comes out peacefully, but when I lift my head, his lashes flutter. I smile and lean in, brushing my mouth over his jaw, then his lips.
Our kiss is soft at first, exploratory, until his hand tightens at my back and he exhales against my mouth like restraint is already slipping. He kisses me back deeper, unguarded, his thumb sliding along my hip beneath the sheet.
My body arches into him on instinct, as heat builds and the room narrows to the space between us.
I shift closer, and his breath shifts. My knee slides between his legs. His grip turns firmer, more possessive, and his kisschanges. Pressure increases. His teeth graze just enough to make my pulse jump.
"Bluebird," he murmurs in a low warning, and every sensation I have lights up.
A violent thump cracks through the apartment. It detonates through the room, sharp and relentless, and Red goes rigid beneath me. His hand freezes at my waist as the knocking comes again, louder, impossible to ignore.
"Blue!" a woman's voice calls, bright and unapologetic. "Yoga! Are you alive in there?"
I smile before I can stop myself.
Red's hand curls against the sheet, knuckles whitening, jaw tightening as he exhales through his nose. He stares at the door as if it's a threat that's learned how to speak. He mutters, "Jesus Christ."
Another series of hard knocks, and Cloud sings a threat, "I swear I'll break the door down if you oversleep."
I push myself up on my elbows, the sheet sliding down my waist.
Red's gaze snaps to me, sharp and assessing, then away just as quickly. He swings his legs over the side of the bed and stands, already pulling on control like armor. He orders, "Stay here."
Hurt fills me. I tilt my head. "It's a little late for secrecy."
His mouth tightens. He drags a hand through his hair, then grabs a T-shirt from the chair. He tugs it over his head and pulls it over his torso.
"That's Cloud," he says, annoyed.
