Page 79 of Sin Like the Devil

“Don’t tell me not to get attached, Rip, because it’s already too late. I want to peel back these bullshit defences you’ve wrapped yourself in and get close enough to matter to you. I want that honour.”

“Trust me, it isn’t an honour. I’m nobody.”

He moves me to sit upright, smoothing a hand over my loose curls. “You’re somebody to me.”

I lift my head, staring into his mesmerizing, sightless eyes. Letting the liquefied honey seep over me, thick and glutenous, until I’m trapped in a depthless pool and unable to tread water for a moment longer.

I’m drowning in Raine.

His confusingly fascinating contradictions.

His mutual search for meaning.

“I… feel alive around you too,” I make myself admit. “More than I have in a long time. But I’m not ready for a commitment.”

The corner of his mouth quirks, that goddamn confident smirk forever serving to drive me insane.

“I’m not asking for one. But does that mean we can’t chase this feeling?”

“Of course not,” I reply on a breath.

“Then run with it, Rip. I don’t need a label.”

Clumsily bringing his forehead to mine, his lips fumble. After he catches the corner of my mouth, I tilt my head enough to seal our lips together. Raine threads a hand in my hair to hold me still.

We kiss slowly, gently, meaningfully. A silent exchange. A promise. Both agreeing to drop the act around each other and run headfirst into the inevitable disaster that lies ahead of us.

He’s chasing the high that no pill or needle could ever give him. I shouldn’t want to be someone’s drug, or even their escape, but I need this too. I want to be cared for. I want to fucking belong for once.

His tongue swipes against mine, velvet soft and exploratory. It’s nothing like the violent lash of Lennox’s kiss, attempting to punish me. I swiftly shove that psycho from my mind before I can contemplate the ethics of kissing Raine too.

Stroking the back of his head, I tease the strands of spun silk. The kiss intensifies. Growing deeper and more passionate, our teeth clash and lips smack together. He even tastes like sunshine.

The golden boy, but with a dark, fractured soul. Seeing past his playful pretence feels like a big deal. I shouldn’t take it for granted.

Sliding a hand up my spine, he teases a path around my waist to find the swell of my left breast. Squeezing it over my oversized tee, his thumb strokes the hardened pebble pushing against my bra.

I press my chest into his hands, a whine crawling up my throat. Everything aches. I want him to relieve the need that’s built within me with each whispered touch between us over several weeks.

“Rip,” he says throatily.

“Yes?” I moan into his lips.

“I need you so fucking badly, it’s driving me insane. I’m not asking for exclusivity or whatever, but I don’t just want to be one of your regrets.”

Peeling his hands off me, I quickly stand. He looks panicked for a moment as my weight disappears from his lap, but the rustle of me sliding my sweats over my hips seems to reach him.

“I’d never regret you, Raine.”

Uncaring of our surroundings, I push my panties down and let them join the puddle of fabric on the ground. Cold air kisses my thighs. I rush to retake my place in Raine’s lap where denim brushes against my bare pussy.

Searching out my naked ass, he grabs a handful. “That’s so hot.”

Retaking his lips, I grind against him. Each brush of his jeans on my core is a painful tease, the rough fabric feeling amazing against my throbbing clit. I’m practically trembling with my desire to feel him.

“I need you too,” I whisper. “I haven’t needed anyone for a long time.”

Circling my hips, his lips peck mine in a fervent beat. “It’s okay to be vulnerable around me. You’re safe.”

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