Page 182 of Tainted Romance

“No worries.” She grabbed the ashtray and put the joint back in her mouth and sat down. Putting her drink and ashtray down, her eyes went to the television. “Can you stop staring at me?” she asked, her eyes still on the television.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be well, um, staring.” I moved from the door and went and sat beside her.

She crossed her legs, taking the joint from her mouth. “Do you do drugs?” She turned to look at me.

“Considering I’m the future of the pack, I think my dad would kill me if I were doing drugs.” Dad let me have women, parties and alcohol, but he drew the line at drugs.

“Yeah, I don’t normally either. Only at festivals.” She frowned. “Normally with Blake.” She shrugged. “Or Chase. I wonder where he is.” She blew out a mouthful of smoke.

Her leg was nervously going up and down. I could feel her nerves, and I couldn’t stop my hand from going to her bare knee and stopping it.

I watched her eyes land on my hand, and her leg stopped going up and down. She took a shaky breath in.

She could feel it, couldn’t she? The heat. The spark between us. She could feel what I was feeling. I knew I could get my answer by reaching into her mind, but this once I was going to try and read her without doing that.

Her breathing was rapid and her eyes were locked on my hand. The joint in her hand was about to burn her fingers like she had completely forgotten about it.

Knowing it was a second away from burning her, I leaned across her with my other hand and took it from her, putting it in the ashtray.

Was it wrong if I started to feel her up? My hand was burning on her knee, not moving up further. Self-control, Harris. Have some self-control.

I pulled my eyes off her, keeping my hand on her. “So, what are you watching?” My fingers started to draw on her skin. She wasn’t answering. “Allie?”

Her head snapped up. “Um, I’m not. I’m listening to music.”

I looked at the screen. Sure enough, it was playing music flashing between pictures. I frowned looking closer. “Are those photos of you?”

“Um, yeah. Plays the pictures on my phone in the background to the music.”

“What song is this?”

“Festival song, by Pez and 360.”

“I don’t get your taste in music.” When it came to music, we were complete opposites. My fingers were still drawing on her skin. I could hear the way her heart was racing. She was having difficulty keeping it in check.

“So, why did you come to the festival then?” She reached for her glass, trying her best to act like I wasn’t making her heart jump out of her chest.

“Why do you think?” I turned looking at her. The answer was obvious, wasn’t it? “Didn’t come for the music, sweetheart.” I couldn’t stop my hand from going to the inside of her thigh and slowly moving up.

She inhaled sharply.

Good, I was having more of an effect on her.

My hand went under her dress, and then she snapped and was pushing my hand off her and getting up.

“God, what was I thinking,” she mumbled and backed away from me.

I was up in a second, standing in front of her. “Why are you panicking?” I knew she was nervous. I could feel that, but I didn’t understand why.

“You should, um, go.” Her hand shot out and landed on my chest, trying to keep distance between her and me.

I never thought I would wish Allie was stoned, but I wished she was now so she wasn’t so bloody nervous. What did she think I was going to do, attack her? Well, I did want to attack her, but I wanted her to want me to, and it would involve a bed. Fuck. Maybe not. I’d take her on the bench.

“I’m not leaving.” My hands went to her hips. “Unless you really want me to go?”

She had made it her mission to keep distance between her and I and now, here, I was making sure that was the last thing we had. Distance. I didn’t want that.

I wanted her.

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