‘Please,’ she says, almost begging. ‘We can go to your truck.’
‘Gianna.’ I shake my head, looking at her. ‘My truck’s still on campus. I have my bike, remember?’
‘Then we can go get it.’
Words catch in my throat, and I don’t know what to think or what to say. My brain and dick are warring with each other.
Drops of rain catch on her lashes and fall down her face. ‘I want to,’ she pleads.
‘Not here.’
I try to pull back, and she comes in for more. I’m high. My dick strains against my pants and she squeezes her legs tighter around my torso. Her fingers tug at my hair, and I feel her pussy pulse against me. My chest aches, and it takes all my willpower to tear my mouth away from hers.
‘Gianna.’Fuck.I know I’ll hate myself later, but I also know our first time shouldn’t be rushed like this. ‘Not tonight, baby. Not here.’
Pain wrings my insides as I struggle to resist. So many times, I’d thought of being close to her, of having her. And now, she’s right here in my arms and I don’t want to let go.
‘Why not?’ she whimpers, arching her back and pressing into my chest further.
‘I want to.’ I dust kisses across her lashes. ‘It’s just …’
Looking into her eyes, I get lost. Her curls flow around her face and I breathe in the lemon scent that gets caught in the breeze.
‘I don’t care where it happens,’ she says.
‘We’ve got all the time in the world. Let me take you out and get you Razzles and have room to taste you and see what you like.’
She gives a half-smile and nods. ‘Okay,’ she breathes against my lips. ‘But just know you did take me out today. I’ve already had Razzles, and you’ve told me I taste like lemons.’
A laugh leaves my chest before I find her mouth again. ‘The sweetest lemons,’ I correct. ‘I just want thisDo you remember when …?to be perfect.’
Suddenly, screams and thuds sound through the air, disrupting the light buzz of the crowd.What is that?
Placing Gianna back on her feet, I keep her close to my side as we head back down the hill toward the noise.
Chapter 20
Ryker
PRESENT
‘What do you expect to find here?’ Tyler asks, spinning his red cap backward.
With Gianna and Mr Fernando occupied with talking to the mayor about moving the carnival to the speedway car park, Renny and I had taken the chance to depart and meet Tyler, who called us as soon as the Civic left the garage.
The drive to Midnight Spares took longer than expected. Despite GPS tracking, the building was surprisingly hard to find, surrounded by much taller buildings with trucks lining the kerb. Each alleyway broke off into turns, like a hedge maze.
‘If Ryker knew what we were looking for, we wouldn’t be here, dumb shit,’ Renny retorts. ‘Why don’t you go eat some hairy-ass sticks?’
‘It’s. Fucking. Celery.’
Ignoring them, I play with the thick shackle wrapped around the posts of a tall chain-link fence that surrounds the perimeter. The sun set hours ago, making the silhouette of the razor ribbon spirals all along the top look even meaner. There’s no chance of jumping this without slicing up skin.But there’s no need – I barely pull on the lock when it comes loose, not even being clicked in place.
I push the fence, the vibration travelling up my arm as the base grates against the ground, then I make my way to the building.
The driveway leads to high-clearance, triple-garage doors along the side, but there’s also a large wooden door at the front with red, peeling paint and another padlock. I squint, examining the lock. Unlike the one that secures the chain-link fence, this lock is fastened but scratched up, like it’s been tampered with. I step back, my foot grinding down on something hard. Tilting to the outer sole of my boot, I kneel down, picking up the dented metal.
Is that … a nail file?
