“What did you do?” Sasha asks.
The memory is so vivid, even after all these years, that I have to shake my head to clear it before I can continue. “He’d been drinking. He wasn’t drunk, but he was definitely buzzed.”
I go quiet, my mind whirling as I remember.
“Oh. My. God,” Sasha whispers. “You slept with him, didn’t you?”
I nod my head slowly. “It was... perfect. Everything I’d ever dreamt it would be.”
Tiptoeingout of the bathroom and into the dark hallway, I nearly collide with a solid wall of muscle.
“Shit!” I gasp, my hand flying to my chest.
“Fuck. Sorry, Iz,” Rowan whispers, grasping my arms to steady me.
His touch sends a jolt of electricity coursing through myveins. Even in the dark, I can make out the sharp angle of his jaw, the fullness of his lips, and the intensity of his eyes as they rake over me.
I’m suddenly, painfully aware that I’m wearing nothing but tiny black sleep shorts and a tight tank top that barely covers my midriff.
“What are you doing up?” I ask, my voice a hoarse whisper. Rowan’s hands feel like a brand against my skin.
He shrugs, gaze locked with mine. “Couldn’t sleep.”
The faint scent of alcohol lingers on his breath as the air between us crackles with pent up tension.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about what happened at prom,” he finally says, voice dropping to a husky rumble that makes my stomach flutter as he steps into me. “How you’ve been avoiding me ever since.”
“Don’t,” I warn, taking a step back. But my back hits the wall, keeping me from retreating any further.
Prowling closer, he closes all but maybe a hair’s breadth of distance between us. “Why not?”
“Because it was a mistake,” I huff quietly, even as my body betrays me, leaning into him like a sunflower chases the fucking sun.
“Do you really believe that?” he asks, so close now I can feel his warm breath grazing my lips. “Or are you just scared?”
His brings his hand up to cup my cheek, brushing a thumb across my bottom lip. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you, Iz. About us.”
My knees go all wobbly.
“There is nous,” I argue weakly, even as my heart races. “Fuck’s sake, Rowan. You’ve been with half the girls in our class.”
“So?” he growls. Leaning in, he’s so close now, I can see theflecks of gold in the hazel of his eyes. “None of them meant anything to me.”
I roll my eyes. “And I do?”
Tangling his fingers in my hair, he tugs gently, tilting my face up, forcing me to meet his fiery gaze. “You meaneverythingto me. You always have.”
My breath catches in my throat. “I?—”
“All I care about is you,” he whispers against my lips. “It’s always been you, Sunshine.”
The nickname breaks something loose inside me, and suddenly I’m kissing him, my arms wrapping around his neck as he presses me up against the wall. His mouth is hot and demanding against mine, tasting faintly of mint and whiskey.
His hands slide down to grip my waist, fingers digging into my flesh as he pulls me tighter against him. I can feel how much he wants me, hard and insistent against my stomach.
“We… we shouldn’t,” I gasp when we finally break apart.
“Are you sure?” he asks, pulling back slightly to look into my eyes. There’s a vulnerability there I’ve never seen before. “I’m leaving in a couple of weeks, Iz. You need to understand. I... I can’t give you anything more than what time I have left.” He rests his forehead against mine. “Do you want to stop?”
