Page 17 of Furious
Then my mind is made up. “Princess,” I crush her lips with mine. “I can’t be the one who gives you a disappointing quickie in a parking lot. Please understand that it’s not that I don’t want you. It’s just the opposite.”
Her arms are still around my neck. She rubs her entire body against mine, like a little purring cat. “But it wouldn’t be disappointing, Ares. You have no idea how you make me feel.”
At this point, my cock is screaming at me for being a dumb ass and not giving Zara what we both want.
But there’s no way I can go home and get to sleep before my super early alarm if I let myself get a taste of her. I know that if I take Zara now, I’ll take her home with me and get no sleep at all.
“Next week is my birthday.” I whisper, nipping at her bottom lip. “I have that day and the following day off. How about we spend the night together? Just the two of us. And we can stay in bed as long as we want. Order takeout and just forget about the rest of the world for twenty-four hours. I couldn’t think about a better way to spend my birthday.”
“I would love to.” Zara says. “But our parents will be back by then. We’ll have to be careful. This is why I wanted to live on campus. Living at home is like still being a high school junior and having to tiptoe around my mom.”
She isn’t wrong. That’s why I moved out. Dad isn’t home all that much, especially since becoming mayor, but I wanted to be totally independent.
However, I have a possible solution that could help us all with the parents’ situation. “Just leave it with me. I’m going to make sure we’ll have my birthday night and the day after to ourselves. Trust me?”
Zara’s gaze softens. “Ok. I’ve always known I could trust you. Since the moment we met. I knew you would never hurt me.”
I wish I could have the same trust. It’s not that I think Zara would set out to hurt me on purpose. But what if she didn’t choose me in the end? That’s the way she could truly hurt me.
It’s a dangerous game and yet I have no choice but to play it. Because one thing is certain. If I walked away now to protect myself, I would lose everything for sure.
Anything worth having in life is risky.
Atlas’s words echo in my head. I miss my twin brother every day. I wish I was more like him. He went after what he wanted without hesitation. Whether it was being with Heather despite our parents’ reservations, founding a racing team, or trying out for a spot in one of the biggest MotoGP teams in the world, Atlas didn’t slow down.
He lived his life without overthinking everything. When he wanted something, he was furious until he got it.
Maybe it’s because I always had his back. I was the one who made sure our plans were headed for success.
Even now, as I encourage Zara to turn the key in the ignition and negotiate her way out of the parking lot, I’m overthinking the situation.
Atlas would follow Zara into the house, and spend the night exploring her hot body. He wouldn’t care about his three a.m. alarm.
I can’t. I might have just passed my probation period at the station, but I’m still a rookie. I’m still the mayor's son and I have to prove myself to all the other cops.
So I do the responsible thing, and kiss Zara goodnight on the doorstep at five in the afternoon.
Her lips are so soft that it takes all my willpower not to follow her inside my father’s house and throw all caution to the wind.
“Good night, princess.” I murmur, rubbing the soft skin behind her ear.
“Good night, Ares.”
Fuck.
Having to walk away from her gives me flashbacks of the night before the race in Bridgeport. when I almost kissed her in front of her hotel room door but did the responsible thing instead.
Back then, I told myself that Zara was too young and clearly acting out. If I kissed her when she was so confused, I wouldn’t be any better than the ex I saved her from.
Maybe deep down, I knew that Zara was the wild card to my orderly world. Like Atlas, she was wild, and she went after what she wanted, no matter the consequences.
But most of all, Zara was and is like a drug. Her special brand of chaos is addictive and once you take a taste, you’re hooked.
For her, I’m about to risk everything. The relationship with my brother and Lev. My father’s wrath.
I’m about to walk away, but I turn back on my heel and go in for another kiss.
I take her mouth the same way I want to take the rest of her body. I breathe her in, stroking her tongue with mine, sucking on her lips until they’re red and swollen. I kiss her like I want to own her. Like I want to steal her heart and her soul.
