Page 94 of Delicate Storm

I walk away, leaving them undoubtedly talking about me, but I don’t need to listen. I know what happened. I was there. And I didn’t almost beat the shit out of him. I had him up against a brick wall with my fist clenched, ready to strike. We’ll never know if I would have hit him or not. But God was he a fucker.

He got what he deserved in the end. No one will work with him. And I heard he got a year’s community service for what he did.

The only thingIdid was remove him from the situation. I couldn’t stand by and watch him attack Amelia. I may not have been happy about her or the TV show, but she didn’t deserve that. And I’ve come to realize, she’s one of the good ones too.

Truthfully, she’s probably the only reason I haven’t shut down the group chat entirely. If she thinks Luke’s a good guy, then maybe deep down he is.

After walking away from the guys, I force myself to endure another twenty minutes of mingling, then I’m ready to leave.

I look for Paige, not wanting her to think that I disappeared without seeing her, and find her on the dance floor, smiling and laughing with Amelia, her friend Hayley, and of course, my goddamn sister.

I bite back a groan—Paige being friends with my sister couldn’t possibly be a good idea—yet my lips pull into a smile completely of their own accord.

As if sensing my stare, Paige glances my way and her own smile widens. She’s breathtaking when she’s like this—happy and carefree—and it makes it that much harder to leave.

I nod subtly before walking toward the door, hoping she gets the hint that I’m leaving. I have no doubt we’ll see each other soon, and if we don’t, maybe that’s not such a bad thing.

Beelining for the valet stand, I pray that he’ll let me take my truck since I never bothered to collect my ticket when I handed over the keys. But before I can ask, a loud whistle sounds from behind me, drawing my attention to Paige disappearing around the corner, back to the scene of our first little moment.

After checking my surroundings, I spin on a dime, then stalk toward the side of the building, only stopping when I’ve found her.

I open my mouth to speak but she stops me in my tracks, throwing her arms around me before slamming her lips to mine, her tongue immediately seeking entry.

It takes me a second to catch up before my stiff body relaxes and I wrap my arms around her waist, my hands splayed on her back, forcing her closer.

Her breath hitches as we kiss and a soft mewl escapes her throat, her sounds alone making my cock harden.

Moving a hand to her neck, I curl my palm beneath her styled hair, careful not to mess it up, while tilting her head back and deepening our kiss. Our tongues clash at first, fighting for control, but after a beat, we settle into a smooth rhythm, my heart pounding like I’ve never kissed this way before—slow yet possessive and…Jesus. Maybe I haven’t.

But fuck if I’m going to get caught up in that now.

We kiss for another minute until Paige pulls away, stepping out of my hold. “Sorry about that,” she says, wiping her lips with a grin that suggests she’s not sorry at all. “You didn’t kiss me earlier. So”—she shrugs, not a care in the world—“I hope it’s okay that I did that.”

I wish I could answer her but I’m not entirely sure how I feel, except that I don’t want this to end.

“Yeah, it was okay.” I smile. “Maybe we need a few more addenda.”

“I think I can get behind that. But for now, I better get back.” She points toward the building behind her and I nod.

“You better. This isn’t going to last long if we get caught.”

“Definitely not. My dad’s likely to riot.” Outwardly she’s joking, but how much truth is there to that statement?

“Who would take the brunt of that?” I ask, my hand cupping the back of my neck. “You or me?”

Paige laughs, and like always it’s infectious. “Definitely you.”

“And you’re not worried about your relationship with him? If he found out?”

“No, I’m not. We’ve been through some stuff and we’ve only recently repaired our relationship. I don’t think he’d letsomething like this set us back. I can’t say the same for you. He seems serious about the ‘no dating my daughter’ rule, but the question is—how far will he go if someone breaks it? And trust me, you don’t want to find out.”

Paige smiles as she makes her way inside, but I don’t let her get far before calling out in a loud whisper. “What if I do?”

“What?” Paige spins, confusion marring her features.

“What if I don’t mind finding out? The last thing I’d want is for this”—I gesture between the two of us—“to affect your relationship with your dad. But if it’s just about me, I don’t care.”

“What if he drops you for a game?”

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