Page 53 of Make Me Pretty
Come on, Peri boy.
Ask me. You know you want to.
“Is thatmakeup?”
I wonder if he’s noticed the other times I’ve worn it, or if he’s only just now allowing himself a deeper,closerlook at me.
Falling a little deeper.
My smile cracks my features. With a spin, I lean back against my locker, hooking my left leg over my right and crossing my arms. With my head tilted back, my hair trickles the back of my neck, a few strands tangled in my jewelry.
Lance’s stare is potent on the side of my face, but Peris’s is hot enough to burn straight through.
I let the silence hang for a minute, purposely flicking my eyes between both men openly gaping at me. The halls echo with conversation and heavy footfalls. Purple lockers slam shut, the second hand on the clock drawing near the sounding of the bell. And through it all, there’s only Peris. Leaning into me, closing the distance, and I don’t think he even realizes.
“I’m confused,” I whisper. “Whatexactlyis it you want from me?” I jut my lips out in a pout just to watch his eyes drop.Sofucking easy.
They always are.
“Uh, Abel?” Lance speaks up, his voice soft and demure. My lips twitch before I roll my head to the other side, catchingLance’s confused expression. His eyes dart between me and Peris, fingers twisting together as he worries his bottom lip.
My teeth gnaw on the skin just inside my own, picking until I taste copper. I don’t have to say a word to prompt more from him.
“Are we still good for later?” he mumbles as he leans in, careful to avoid Peris’s glare.So cute.
“Of course, babe. I’ll text you.” He leans back, pale blue eyes bright with surprise. Peris’s growl rumbles in the space between us, and heat burns across my right side. My fingers flex, skimming the fabric of his athletic pants. I clutch the material, even as I keep my attention on Lance.
His smile lights up his face, and two little dimples pop up like craters on his cheeks. I reach out to dip my finger in one, making his blush burn from pink to scarlet. I shoot him a wink, dragging my finger down his chin as he turns away and starts down the hall. The blaring echo of the bell sounds at the first clomps of his footsteps, and bodies scatter.
I watch them disperse, ignoring the ripples of Peris’s… anger? Displeasure? Who knows with him, honestly. It’s a new emotion every day with the fucker.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” His words come out short, forced between teeth that refuse to unclench to speak properly.
“Are we talking about something different now, or is this question just a variation of the first?”
His left hand finds rest against a locker to my right, forearm extended inches away while he adjusts the strap over his shoulder with the other. “It’s always the same fucking question with you, Abel,” he hisses, sounding defeated.
I frown for a moment before shaking it off. “Well, that doesn’t tell me shit.” I huff a laugh, feeling the roll of my Adam’s apple with a swallow. “I’ll be honest with you. I have no ideawhat I’m doing—ever. But if it feels good, then I must be doing something right.” My lips part to blow a soft breath in Peris’s direction. As it grazes over him, his exposed, corded forearm pimples with goosebumps.
He moves quicker than I can blink. Fingers snatch my jaw, digging into the hollows of my cheeks and under my chin as my head is shoved back and into my locker. My eyelids flutter at the sharp connection.
Peris leans in, body pressed flush against mine. His dick is hard and hot and…shit.I blink up, slightly dazed and suddenlyveryturned on. I don’t care that people could be staring or the cameras could catch what he’s doing to me.
He licks his lips before they part in their own wave of hot breath. “Quitfuckingwith me, runt,” he spits out through a locked jaw. Then, he dips lower to breathe his next words against my lips. “I told you.No one else.”
With a curl to his top lip, he slams his mouth into mine. Our teeth clack, rattling my brain, but then his tongue is sliding against mine, rough and wet. My jaw falls slack, giving him all the access he wants. Through my lashes, I gaze at his closed eyelids, watch the flutter of his eyeballs rolling beneath the thin skin. His own eyelashes flutter against tanned cheekbones.
I don’t kiss him back, and he notices my abstention far too soon for my liking.
He rears back, features twisted into an incredulous stare, even as his fingers flex against my hip, having found their way there. He blinks with wide eyes trained on my mouth for the moment of three heartbeats, and then, he pulls away, posture stiff as he strides down the hall. Each swish of his legs is long and sure, ass flexing in his joggers.
My tongue darts out to swipe over his spit that landed on my upper lip.
Game on, baby.
“Uh,are you sure we should, erm…”
I roll my eyes at Lance’s hesitance as I speak through the joint between my lips. “Oh, come on,” I rasp on an inhale. The earthy burn fills my lungs, making my head spin as I hold it in. Then burning ignites, and I cough through it, working air back into my lungs.
