Page 99 of Dandelions and Smoke

She blinks slowly, narrowing her eyes on me. “You could have told us the truth.”

“I should have,” I agree, because she’s right. “From now on, no more secrets. I promise.”

Finally, her shoulders drop, like she’s too tired to keep pretending, and she opens her arms ready for a long-overdue hug.

Hopping off the fence, I wrap my arms around her and squeeze, treasuring the fact that I’m one of the only people she allows the privilege of doing so.

“As if we would have ever let you stay away,” she huffs, rolling her eyes and squeezing me back.

“I see you two have made up,” Chief says, walking over the grass to where Tris and I have been hanging out, sitting and watching the sunset.

Joining us, he sits, wrapping his arms around me and placing a kiss on my cheek. I lean back and close my eyes, breathing in this moment and settling into the peace it brings me, knowing everything is right again.

“Sisters fight.” Tris shrugs, lips tilting up, giving me a sideways glance as I open my eyes.

The warmth from her words washes over me with the last rays of the sunset, and I’m reminded of how important she and Ainsley are to me and I to them.

“I’m going to find out what everyone wants for dinner.”

“You’re going to cook?” I ask, my eyebrows shooting up as I stare at her in disbelief.

“Absolutely not,” she snorts, standing and wiping herself off. “But I’ll find out what everyone wants and get Billy to do it.”

“Please, don’t let him burn the house down. I swear…” Chief shifts his weight, the lines on his face deepening as he groans. “How does an ex-cook turned firefighter still manage to set fires?”

“I make no promises, but I’ll tell Blake to supervise.”

“Then what will you do?” I ask, cocking my head to the side and past Chief’s shoulder so I can see her.

“Whatever I want,” she beams, making me laugh as she treks back to the house.

Turning my attention back to Chief, he leans his head down, capturing my lips with a kiss that starts soft but grows more intense with every second until it’s all-consuming. His lips pull mine into his, and I bite softly on his bottom lip, drawing a low groan from him. His hands roam over me, digging and tugging, exploring my body, only pulling away for me to see a familiar heat ignite in his gaze.

“I need you,” he rasps, his hands locking onto my hips to twist me fully toward him, pulling me down until the hard heat of him presses right against my core.

I lean into it, shifting my weight to slide slowly over his growing erection, a mischievous grin playing on my lips. I love teasing him, love the raw power of breaking his composure. A low, gravelly growl escapes him, sending a shiver through me. His fingers thread upward, burying deep in my hair to wrap firmly around the back of my head, tilting my face back.

My breath catches in a sharp hitch as my neck is laid bare to him. A violent wave of goosebumps breaks across my skin the moment his teeth nip a slow path up my throat, stopping to press a hot, heavy breath against my ear. It reminds me of our first night together, of the push and pull. As he succumbs to me, I willingly surrender to him.

“Do not tease me, Rory,” he breathes, his gaze darkening with a barely contained hunger as he moves to meet my eyes. “I’m a man who has been desperate and deprived of the taste of you. Don’t push me, or I will take you right here where anyone can find us.”

A frantic rhythm crashes against my ribs, loud enough to collide with every coherent thought in a dizzying rush. Forcing myself to look away from him, which takes way more effort than it should, I glance past his shoulder at the house. It’s actually pretty far back, and if my spatial awareness isn’t completely failing me right now, this angle means we’re in a total blind spot. Nobody can see us. At least I hope that’s true, but right now I’m also not sure I care.

Tris did say everyone should be focusing on dinner, right?

I turn my attention back to Chief, biting my lip with indecision clearly written on my face, given the way his face twists with amusement.

“If you keep looking at me like that, I swear, Sweetheart,” he teases before his voice drops lower. “I’ll strip you out of those shorts and give you a seat on my face.”

With a raised brow, I stand from his lap, and he studies me, unsure of my next move. His gaze follows my hands as they travel to my waistband, watching with unadulterated hunger as I slide them down my legs slowly with my underwear.

“Fuck, me,” he groans, chin dropping as he takes in his new view, and I drop my clothes to the soft grass beside us.

“Get over here.”

It’s a demand, not a question.

Heat floods my cheeks as he pulls my hips forward, giving me exactly the reaction I hoped for. Within seconds, his mouth is on my center as I stand before him, my legs nearly going weak.