Page 126 of Trust Me Always

But we have kissed because we just had to, haven’t we?

That night in her dorm, the way her body shook and the sounds she was making—there was no way I could pretend to stay asleep. I had to see her, touch her, fucking taste her.

“Shit,” I hiss, scrubbing my hands down my face.

A horn blares behind me, and I jerk, my eyes flying open, my foot instinctively easing off the pedal. I start to roll, maybe a single inch, and then reality catches up to me, and I slam back on the brakes, eyes crashing into my favorite blue pair.

I throw my truck into park, tracking her movements, glued to her as she jogs over and yanks on the passenger door. Her eyes snap up to mine, blond brows raising.

“Fuck.” I lean over, flicking the lock, and she tugs the handle at the same time as I pull it, helping her shove it open.

She climbs in, shivering slightly, and closes it behind her. She puts her seat belt on and blasts the heater, holding her fingers to the vent.

And I just…stare at her, mouth agape.

The horn honks again, and I jolt, quickly putting the car in drive, and start rolling right as the light turns yellow, trapping all the cars behind me at the light yet again.

“What…” is all I can get out, my head yanking from her to the road several times before I finally give up and jerk the truck to the side, parking in a red zone for just a minute.

We look at each other at the same time.

“What the ever-loving hell were you doing standing in the middle of the road?”

“Catching a taxi.” She cocks her head. “If you were paying attention, you’d have seen my hand raised and everything.”

She’s teasing, the little brat, but for real, what the hell?

She should be with Alister right now, not sitting in the passenger seat of my truck.

“You should really get on the road if we want to beat the evening traffic later,” she suggests.

I just blink at her, and she flicks off her little fur-lined boots,folding her legs beneath her. “Hold on.” I raise my hand, taking a deep breath. “Who told you I was going home?”

“Ari.”

I frown. “And how did Ari know?”

“She talked to Mason.”

“And how exactly didMasonknow?”

She shrugs. “Beats me.”

“All right, and how did you know where to find me?”

“Mason has your location.”

“Goddamn, we have some nosy-ass fucking friends, don’t we?”

She laughs at that, and I just…watch her. The way it lights up her eyes, the curve of her lips, the way she nibbles at them as her laughter tapers off. “That we do, Lancaster. Now, are we going to get on the road or what? Because as you can see, I am the hottest of messes.”

Damn straight you are. A beautiful mess.

I clear my throat, looking toward her dorm a moment before facing her again. “I’m staying the whole weekend.”

“Cool.”

“Not coming home till late Sunday night.”

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