Page 72 of Midnight Auto Parts

“I lied.” She cackled with glee.“Sucker.”

Leaving them to it, I shut the door behind us with a bang then slumped against it. “I’m so?—”

Warm lips descended on mine, crushing my apology between us. Kierce braced a hand against the door, leaned in, and pressed his body into mine. Legs turning to jelly, I gripped his collar, holding on for dear life as he devoured me. I was breathless and trembling, plastering myself against him, eager to see how far this burst of hunger would take us, when I tumbled backward into nothing.

Strong arms snaked around my waist, catching me before I cracked my skull on the floor in the entryway of Matty’s apartment. As I clung to Kierce for a wholly different reason, my heart attempted to climb out of my chest. Hanging off Kierce, I glared upside down at Josie, who had fallen on her butt in shock.

Below us, a horn honked, and I grasped the situation.

Carter came to fetch Josie and drive her home, Josie burst out the door, phone to her ear, and I got caught making out with my boyfriend, who had decided to ravish me on the landing.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” she ventured. “Carter is in a rush, so I didn’t look where I was going.”

“It’s our fault.” I let Kierce tug me upright. “We were, um, blocking your path.”

“Let me help.” Matty hooked his hands under Josie’s arms and lifted her onto her feet. “No running.”

With her gaze already latched on Carter, she didn’t even pause to embarrass me. Just hugged Matty and me then skipped down the stairs. She ran to the truck, blowing Carter a kiss as she walked in front of the headlights, then climbed in while Carter pretended to wipe off the kiss then throw it out her window.

“I am going to bed,” Matty announced then shut the door in our faces.

“I should apologize.” Kierce threaded our fingers. “But I’m not sorry.”

“That makes two of us.” A laugh bubbled out of me. “You always surprise me.”

“I surprise myself.” He led me down to my landing. “Is that all right to confess?”

“That I cause you to burst into spontaneous kissing frenzies?” I was delighted to have that effect on him. “Who doesn’t want to hear that from their boyfriend?”

Boyfriend. I had a boyfriend.Me.I couldn’t remember the word ever making me so giddy.

“It’s coming back to me.” His thumb stroked my knuckles. “The wanting.” He raked his free hand through his hair. “It’s overwhelmed me twice now.” He opened his mouth, then shut it. “I don’t think I would have stopped.”

A kiss, even a heated kiss, was a long ways from having sex against my brother’s front door standing on a metal staircase in clear view of the road. But for someone unused to the rush of hormones whispering bad ideas in their ear, I understood why Kierce worried he might be moving too fast for me. Or maybe it was too fast for himself, but he hadn’t quite interpreted the signals from his lust-addled brain correctly.

Which, go me. Much like most of my new powers, I had never wielded that one before.

“I would have stopped you if you did anything I didn’t want.” I bit my bottom lip. “You’ve got to promise you’ll do the same if I overstep.”

Each time my brain attempted to slip me an intrusive thought about how hard he had been against me, I got twitchier. I was horrified to admit I might have orgasmed from a single thrust of his hips through our layers of clothes if we had gotten that far.

Heat sparking in my face, I considered blaming my new demigodhood for my raging hormones.

Several long seconds later, Kierce rumbled, “I don’t think I would have stopped you either.”

“Don’t say things like that.” I groaned as possibilities filled my head. “I haven’t been with anyone in…”

“…a long time?” The edges of his smile curved. “Are you saying I tempt you?”

“You’ve tempted me since the moment I saw you walking the cemetery at night like you belonged there.”

Like he might belong with me too.

On a low growl, his forehead came to rest against mine, and I held still while he gathered himself. “It shouldn’t hurt so much. This wanting.”

A shiver danced down my spine as we stood on the stairs under the moon. As if he had spoken those words to me before, in another life, in another time, in another world. As if they rang through our histories, echoing in the present.

I blamed that on the demigodhood thing too.

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