“I’m sorry,Jack.”
I cupped her cheek. “Don’tbe sorry.Butif you happen to change your mind, you know where to find me.”
I slipped out the door and down the stairs asAurorawalked into her bedroom.
I needed a cold one—a drinkanda shower.
My front door slammed behind me asIkicked off my shoes and grabbed one of the beersIhad gotten forAuroraout of the fridge.
No.
I put it back and went to the pantry instead.Therewas a lone bottle of whiskey thatIrarely indulged in, but today was a fucking day for it.
First, yesterday—the call at the beginning of the shift whereDrewnearly got himself barbecued.AndthenAurora. . .
Fuck.
I wanted her.Iwanted her in waysIhad never wanted anyone.
Drew was right.Smokeleads to fire.Ichewed him out becauseIworried about losing him.Auroramight be worried about hurting me when she leaves, butIwas already afraid of what would happen to me whenIlost her.
She wasn’t staying . . .Sowhy didIeven let myself fucking care?
She was just another summertimer, whetherIwanted to admit it or not.
Besides, she didn’t want me.ButhereIwas.Aglutton for punishment.
I took a drink from the bottle and winced asIstripped down and climbed into the shower.Thefrigid spray did nothing to temper the wanton need that was coursing through my veins.
A distant thump pricked my curiosity.Halfof my heart still had hope thatAurorawould stomp in like a hurricane.Butthat was delusion, not hope.
The thump echoed again.
I cut the water and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around my waist.Theknocking grew louder asIneared the front door.
“Hold on.I’mcoming,”Igroused asIyanked open the door.
I could have been knocked over by a single breath.
Aurora stood on my front step, soaked, teeth chattering, and shivering in the middle of hellish summer heat. “Mywater heater died,” she said as wide eyes raked up and down my shower-speckled chest.
I clung to the doorframe to keep from reaching for her.Thewhite tank top she was in stuck to her body like a second skin.Itlooked like she had dressed in a hurry and hadn’t dried off before putting clothes on.
Her nipples were pale and pebbled through the soaked fabric.Aurorain cut-off jeans and a soaked white t-shirt was every wet dreamI’dever had.
“Roar . . .”
“You sure you can handle this?” she blurted in a frenzied torrent. “BecauseI’mleaving at the end of the summer, whether you like it or not.”
Tension blazed and crackled between us like smoldering brush, just waiting for a light breeze to whip it up into a wildfire.
“Fuck it.”Igrabbed the front of her shirt and pulled her into me. “Getin here,”Igrowled asIyanked the door closed behind us.
The second the door slammed,Ihad her up against the wall.
“I need to hear you say it,”Irumbled asIfisted her hair and yanked her head back, opening up her throat. “Tellmeexactlywhat you want.”
“You,” she whispered.
