Page 24 of North

Smack.

My breath hitched as his palm cracked against my ass.

His voice was low, dark, trembling. “Go. To. Your. Room.”

I smirked. “I doubt I’ll regret this.”

North growled, yanked me to him, and crushed his mouth to mine.

And just like that, it felt like I had him.

Chapter 8

Quinn

The Lakehouse had always been quiet, but after the bonfire, it felt unnaturally so. The laughter, the music, the mocking voices—they were all gone now, leaving only the hum of the lake’s surface brushing against the shore and the occasional creak of the house settling. It should’ve been peaceful, but instead, it suffocated me.

Because now, the quiet wasn’t filled with Connor’s jabs or Victor’s sneers. It wasn’t filled with Summer’s cheerful chatter or the comforting din of people moving in and out.

Now it was just North.

And me.

I felt him everywhere. In the charged silence of the hallways. In the way the light seemed dimmer when he wasn’t in the room and heavier when he was. He was there in every fleeting touch—a hand grazing my back as he passed, his knuckles brushing against mine as we reached for the same plate in the kitchen. And when his touch lingered longer than it should’ve, my stomach would knot, the air would grow thinner, and I’d tell myself it didn’t mean anything.

But the worst part—the part I hated most—was how much I wanted to believe it did.

I kept replaying the bonfire in my head, over and over until it felt like a reel in my mind that I couldn’t escape. Every incident we’d had since I arrived. Him fucking the blonde in the living room, jerking him off in the bathroom, the kisses, that night at the party… the other night in his room when he’d caught me with my fingers on my—I was being reckless. I knew that I should’ve stopped, but it felt like an impossibility.

Every time I closed my eyes, I felt the heat of his breath against my skin, the way his hands had gripped me. There were fingermarks on my thighs after the party, and despite the fact that I’d fingered myself before, my pussy had ached from being stretched by him. It felt stretched out and tight and swollen when I finally woke up the next morning. I’d come within seconds when I pressed my fingers against my clit.

I hated him for it. Hated him for the confusion he left in his wake, for the way he could strip me down with a single glance, a single touch. And I hated myself for letting him.

***

Friday arrived quicker than I expected it to. The week had slipped through my fingers, leaving me unsteady and restless, pacing my room like a caged animal. I told myself I wasn’t waiting for North, that I wasn’t holding my breath every time the bathroom door between our rooms creaked open, but I couldn’t stop glancing toward it.

He’d been a constant presence this week, slipping into my space like he belonged there, his voice low and teasing as he leaned in just a little too close. There were moments when I felt like I could almost read him—when the smirk softened, when his touches lingered—but then he’d pull back, leaving me even more confused than before.

We hadn’t done much more than kissing since the bonfire, but the tension between us was undeniable, a heavy, charged thing.

It wasn’t just the possibility of what might happen that had me on edge—it was the thought of what would happen after. Would this end as quickly as it began? Would he move on the second Mom and Mark came home, leaving me with nothing but the memory of his mouth on mine and the ache he left behind?

I didn’t know what scared me more: the idea of us going further or the possibility that this would be over before it even began.

Summer had tried to distract me with her usual cheerful chatter, pulling me into her room while she packed her things. The room was a mess, her clothes scattered across the bed and floor like a storm had blown through. She’d been planning to leave all along—Victor and Connor too—but somehow, the reality of their departure left me more nervous than I expected it would.

They were going, that should’ve made me relieved.

It didn’t though, not when I knew that it meant North and I would have the whole house to ourselves. This would be the first time we were really alone, without anyone to interrupt or interfere. My hands were trembling just imagining what could happen.

“Are you sure you’re not going to miss me?” she teased, tossing a sundress into her suitcase without folding it.

I rolled my eyes, perching on the edge of her bed. “You’re leaving me in a house with North. I think I’ll survive.”

Her laugh was light, but there was something knowing in her expression as she glanced over at me. “You know he likes you, right?”

The words hit like a slap, and I laughed too quickly, too harshly. “North likes to play games. That’s all this is.”

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