“You okay?” I ask.
“Yeah, just got bright in here.”
I melt into the feel of his palm pressed against the small of my back. “Wait.” I swallow, distracted. “You said something about rules?”
He bends, his lips brushing against my ear. “I think I’m about to break them.”
My heart slams against my ribs. “Jack?—”
He presses a chaste kiss to my temple. I hate how much I like it. How much I’ve let myself melt into him, and how he holds me so gently.
Most of all, I hate how quickly he’s managed to get under my skin.
This was supposed to be pretend. I’m not sure it is anymore.
Chapter 13
Jack
“Careful, Sinclair, when you hold something that close to your mouth, it’s impossible for me to focus on anything else.”
“You’re such a flirt.” Izzy sways into me, laughing, before she takes another bite out of the caramel apple I bought her at the party.
I lean down, wrap my hand around hers, and draw it to my mouth.
She gasps. “Don’t you dare!”
“Don’t want to share?”
“No.”
She tries to tug it away, but I hook my arm around her back, and we stumble, bumping into a car parked on the street.
“This would be easier if you gave me a taste.”
She raises an eyebrow, then shoves the apple into my mouth, knocking against my front teeth.
“Maybe you’ll be quiet for a minute.”
“Hey,” I mumble around my bite.
It’s late, almost midnight, so the trick-or-treaters have gone to bed and the sleepy streets of Merritt Point are quiet.
Caramel hits my tongue, then the strong, bright tang of the green apple.
“Want more?” I hold it out to her.
The streetlights wash over Izzy and that incredible costume. Fuck me. I haven’t been able to get her out of my mind all night. What was it about sirens? They lured sailors to their death, right?
I’m just a dead man walking.
She grins, blissfully unaware how she’s spun me up just from swaying in the crisp night air.
“Izzy?”
It’s meant to be a question, but it’s more of a dare.
She twirls back and tugs the caramel apple from my hand, locking her eyes with mine as she takes a bite.
