Page 127 of Your Place or Mine

Callum came around the bar in two strides, grabbed my face in both hands, and kissed me like the ground beneath us might fall away.

There was no hesitation now.

No confusion.

Onlyyes.

Onlynow.

His mouth was hot and demanding, and I kissed him back like he was breath itself. His hands slipped to my waist, pulling me flush against him, and I wrapped my arms around his neck, holding on for dear life.

We stumbled back together, barely breaking the kiss as we fumbled into the back hallway. Somewhere between kisses, my jacket came off. Then his shirt.

His hands were everywhere…my hips, my back, threading through my hair, and I couldn’t get close enough, couldn’tfeelenough.

He pushed open the backroom door with his shoulder, pulling me inside with him.

This wasn’t careful.

This wasn’t delicate.

It was wildfire.

And we were both already burning.

His breath was ragged as he pressed me against the wall, one hand cupping the back of my head, the other trailing down to my thigh. I gasped into his mouth, legs shaking as the world fell away.

I didn’t think about the past.

Or the future.

Only the way he looked at me like I was the only thing in his entire broken world still worth holding onto.

And when he whispered my name like a promise, a warning, a prayer, I let go.

Of everything.

And let him catch me.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Callum

The bar felt different.

Not in a big way. Not like I walked in and heard angels singing or saw the light filtering through the stained glass like some kind of holy sign.

But it felt… lighter.

Like someone had cracked a window and let the air in, and the ghosts that usually hovered in the corners had stepped out for a smoke break.

I wiped down the bar even though it was already clean. Couldn’t help it. My hands needed something to do. My chest was too tight with leftover adrenaline and something that felt dangerously close to hope.

Lydia.

Hell.

Just thinking her name made something in me stutter.

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