Page 96 of Beyond the Badge: Nox

But why the fuck not?

She was single. He was single. He needed to get it through his thick fucking skull this was not cheating.

Not on Jackie. Not even on her memory.

The only thing stopping him from kissing her—and more—was himself.

He was his own damn cockblock.

In reality, his world hadn’t gotten darker, or spiraled out of control, when he fucked her the other night. If anything, everything around him had become brighter.

At the time, he didn’t want to see it for what it was…

Liyah was a spot of color in his grayscale world.

He dipped his head further, until his lips were a hairsbreadth away from hers, until their breaths melded.

Since they were now too close to focus on each other, he closed both the small gap between them and his eyes until his lips briefly touched hers.

Soft, warm and inviting.

She curled her fingers around the back of his head and pulled him down for another light lip touch.

“Liyah,” he breathed as he dragged his lips over hers once, twice… before that gentle kiss turned hungry.

Because he was fucking starved.

For touch.

For attention.

For anything and everything this woman could give him.

And what she was giving him, at the moment, was an erection.

Wrapping one arm around her back and the other around her hips, he pulled her closer, proving to her just how much she turned him on.

In case she had any doubt.

For fuck’s sake, he wanted her.

That realization fucked with his head because he never thought he’d wantanywoman as much as he had wanted Jackie. It also made guilt circle the outskirts of his brain. He did his best to shove it away so it didn’t take over and ruin this moment.

Because this kisswasa moment.Theirmoment.

He wanted it to be all about them and no one else. Not Jackie. Not Mark. Not her father or his brotherhood.

Only Nox and Aaliyah.

In a closet. In a community center. After a grief group.

The group created to help people move on.

He originally didn’t think attending would help.

But in reality, it was. Just not in the way it was intended.

Her long nails dragged through his hair before she dug them into the back of his neck, returning him to the moment. And her.

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