Page 53 of Speed Crush

She stiffens but doesn’t retreat.

“Because now I’m not just warmed up. I’m starving.”

She lets out a short, panicked laugh. “You’re so—”

“Careful,” I cut in, my voice low and full of gravel. “Choose the next word wisely, Songbird. Because I’ve had you in my head for two days, and I’m not in the mood for games.”

Her eyes flash. “You walked away last time.”

“You pushed first.”

She opens her mouth, then shuts it, throat bobbing. I watch her process the heat between us, the throb she’s trying not to acknowledge.

She whispers, “This is a bad idea.”

And I smile. Slow. Wicked.

“Two weeks isn’t a lot of time, June.”

She flinches like I touched her.

“For what?” Her voice is barely a whisper.

“To convince you to stop running.”

I let that land, and when she doesn’t look away, I add, voice low and certain, “You’ve been running, June… but you keep landing right here with me.”

She lifts her chin just slightly, eyes glinting. “Maybe I just have terrible navigational skills.”

I smirk, brushing my knuckles along her jaw. “Or maybe your inner compass is finally pointing true north.”

She stares up at me, wide-eyed and trembling slightly.

I reach up, slow and careful, and brush her hair back from her cheek.

Then I slide my other hand under her hoodie, fingers gliding along the hem of her T-shirt until they meet skin. She jerks under my touch—but doesn’t pull away.

I glide upward, stroking the dip of her waist, up the slope of her ribs, until my thumbs brush the edge of her bra.

June makes a broken sound in her throat—a sound I feel in my spine—and her hands finally rise.

She grips my arms, nails biting lightly into my skin, her breath stuttering out of her like she’s trying to ground herself. I can feel the hesitation trembling in her fingers—and something else too. Hunger.

So I go slow. Slow enough that she knows I’ll stop the second she wants me to. But deliberate enough that she doesn’t want to.

I press my chest to hers and walk her backward until her back meets the wall. Her hands curl into my shoulders—but there's a flicker in her eyes. A hesitation. Like she’s still deciding if she can trust this. Trust me.

So I pause. Just for a second.

Then, I kiss her.

Not like the last time. Not like I’m claiming her.

Like I’m inviting her to burn with me.

Her moan is soft as she pulls me closer.

I deepen the kiss, my tongue sliding against hers with a low growl that escapes before I can swallow it down.

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