Page 48

“I know,” he whispers, his gaze darting to my mouth for just a fraction of a second. But that’s enough. My heart stumbles, heat and longing flood me, and an urgent throbbing takes over my body.

I have no idea who moves first, him or me, or both of us at once. Our lips collide, and right and wrong cease to exist.

Chapter 25

Phoenix

I’d like to say I’ve forgotten what it’s like to kiss Lia, but that’s not true. I remember it very clearly. Her lips on mine, the little sounds she made. It’s all burned irrevocably into my memory.

Now she sighs into my mouth, and I forget how to breathe and think. I forget who I am and who she is and how profoundly wrong it is for me to kiss her.

Her lips part and our tongues touch, and heat shoots through my veins, straight to my cock. I get hard and I can tell she feels it because she’s pressing herself against me, her arms wrapped around my neck. My skin is burning, and so is hers. She wants more, just like I do.

I moan, I can’t help it. Her teeth dig into my lower lip. She bites, hard and demanding. It hurts, but I don’t pull away. Instead, I return the kiss with the same intensity. I taste her desire, her longing, and they race through my own body, pulsing and throbbing. Her chest presses against mine, and I can feel her heart beating. The tempo of my own matches hers, echoing loudly in my ears.

I let my hands wander over her body; it’s still so familiar. Too familiar. Damn, why do I remember so well how it feels to touch her? My fingers slide under her short skirt, along her thighs. I smile as she trembles. We move in unison, my hands grasping her rounded backside. She springs off the floor and wraps her legs around my hips. More heat, more pressure, more desire, more of everything. More.

Lia tilts her pelvis and I exhale with a hiss. She breathes me in, and I can tell she’s trying to kill me. All that’s between us is the thin fabric of her leotard and tights, plus my sweatpants and boxer shorts. Too much, and at the same time not enough to keep me from feeling how much we both want this.

“Phoenix,” she murmurs into my mouth, urgently, almost pleading. I have to give her what she wants from me, I must.

And then—I don’t fucking know why—images pop up in my head. Blue eyes, dark hair. Dimples that only appear when she smiles the way she always smiled at me.

Isabel.

I suddenly feel ice cold. Pain races through me, relentless and unstoppable. I lose my balance, and my body no longer obeys me, though I somehow manage to put Lia down on the floor before we fall flat on our faces.

But I’m already falling without a safety net. I race toward the abyss that will tear me apart.

Lia stares at me, breathing heavily, her eyes wide, darker than usual, her lips puffy. Swollen lips that I kissed. That I want to keep kissing. Shit, I want to do so much more with her. I would have done so much more, if not for . . . fuck.

Suddenly my chest feels far too tight. I can’t . . . breathe.

“Phoenix, what’s—” Lia breaks off, still staring at me. I say nothing. I’m making one damn mistake after another.

I shake my head and the world spins. I have to say something, but I can’t get a word out. I feel dizzy. I wasn’t thinking, not even a little bit. Although that’s not entirely true. I was thinking, up to a certain point, and then my damn mind just shut down. I forgot how important this job is to me and how I shouldn’t kiss Lia or want her.

Until the reason was slammed into my face full force. Blue eyes, dark hair. A different smile. The same dimples.

My stomach rebels and I feel sick. Fuck, what am I doing?

I spin on my heel and leave Lia standing there. I run away. That’s what I do best, after all. But I still see the hurt look in her eyes, which I’m now afraid will haunt me mercilessly. I definitely deserve it.

I didn’t even manage to teach her properly for one hour. But if I’m honest, the whole thing was doomed to fail from the start.

I just didn’t expect it to happen so quickly. And I have absolutely no idea how we should continue now. I can still feel her legs around my hips, her arms around my neck.

Blue eyes turn to green, dark hair to liquid gold. The smile becomes softer and sadder. Different images, different memories, and the scent of summer rain. I’m so screwed.

Interlude

Phoenix

July 3, 12:24 AM

“Are you ready?” I ask.

“Ready.” And then, without warning, she lets herself fall backward. I catch her and prevent her from landing on her bottom.