Page 29 of Who Let The Wolves Out?

She answers it with a soft sigh, melting into me as our lips meet again.

And then it deepens.

I shift, rolling slightly to brace myself on one elbow so I don’t crush her, but our bodies stay tangled. Her hands find the back of my head, pull me in tighter. Mine trace the curve of her waist, memorizing the way she shivers under my touch.

She tastes like orange and midnight.

When she breaks the kiss, she doesn’t move far. Her forehead rests against mine, our breaths mingling.

“You drive me crazy,” she whispers.

I grin against her lips. “Likewise.”

She kisses me again—quicker this time, urgent—and I groan softly, sliding my hand up to cradle the back of her head.

I want to take my time. To savor every second of this.

But right now?

All I can do is kiss her like I’ve waited years.

And maybe I have.

We finally part again, gasping, grinning, tangled in each other like we’ve always belonged there.

“I’m scared,” she says.

I brush a kiss to her temple. “Me too.”

She nods. “Okay.”

And just like that, we keep lying there, under the stars, hearts thudding, hands twined.

Not perfect.

But finally real.

CHAPTER 11

ALICE

Iwake up in a tangle of blankets and thoughts I can’t sort through.

The sunrise is barely creeping through the cabin windows, casting the softest kind of gold across the floorboards. Everything should feel calm, dreamy even. But all I can feel is pressure.

Jason kissed me.

And I kissed him back.

Twice.

I didn’t just let it happen. I wanted it. Leaned into it. Let myself believe—just for a moment—that something real and warm and possibly dangerous could be mine.

And now?

Now I want to run so badly my bones ache.

I press my fingers against my lips like I can rewind time through skin.

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