Page 79 of The Season
Liam huffs, the sound full of bitter amusement. “Of course you didn’t.” Some of the tension bleeds out of him, his body molding more closely against my own as he holds me against him. “But now you do.”
He presses a tentative kiss to the side of my neck, then my cheek, a brushing kiss that has warmth spreading through my chest. “Are you okay with that?” he asks. “With this? Now that you know our past?”
Their past.
A kiss, by the sounds of it, and years ago. But it had to have been more than that to have left them so full of bitterness toward each other.
Their past.
But with our legs twined together, and with their hands on me and our faces mingling breaths, it doesn’t feel like it’s entirely in the past.
No, it feels like it’s just re-emerging.
And this… I’m not even sure whatthisis, how we went from swimming in the pool, from talking about university and parental expectations to this.
But I like it.
“I don’t mind,” I admit, my voice going breathless as Antoine grips my knees beneath the water with each of his hands, his thumbs tracing circles on the inside of my thighs. My eyelids flutter shut and I press my cheek against Liam’s, a sigh escaping my lips before I can stop it. “And if you both want that again…”
My words falter, because I’m not quite sure how to say what I want to say. All I know is I’m falling for both of them, careening down the snowy mountainside, out of control. And the thought of them hurting—the thought of them hurting each other—it feels like a physical blow.
I just wish I knew how to fix things.
Maybe words aren’t the best way to do that. At least, not here, with my body pliant as melted honey between them, with the steam from the hot tub rising around us, with Antoine’s hands moving up my legs, so slowly, so slowly, until his thumbs are caressing the soft flesh of my thighs, so close to my heated core.
A whimper escapes my throat, my head falling back onto Liam’s shoulder, my back arching until I can feel the cool air on my bikini-clad breasts, making my nipples peak.
“Fuck, Lily,” Liam growls, teeth nipping at my earlobe. “How did you get here? What are you doing to me?”
Antoine bends forward, pressing searing kisses along the column of my throat, my collarbone, my shoulder, his fingers pressed against my thighs, hot as a brand. Liam’s hands skirt up my sides, moving from my hips to the curve of my stomach, brushing my ribcage until they’re resting just beneath my breasts.
“How long have you two been hooking up?” Liam murmurs, his voice a low growl in my ear. “This isn’t the first time you’ve fooled around, is it?”
There’s a hint of jealousy there, but mostly heat, and the biting kiss he presses to the side of my neck echoes his tone. Sharp enough to leave a mark. Hungry, angry, with no small amount of possessiveness.
“We’ve…” My breath comes out of me in a stuttering gasp when Liam’s fingers dip beneath the fabric of my bikini top, teasing the underside of my breasts.
I’m not sure what he means by hooking up. Does he mean sex? Or kissing? Everything is blurring together in my mind, boundaries and words, rising up with the steam around us.
“We kissed a few days ago,” I breathe. I thought he would have known. Thought Eddie would have said something to him. “Just once.”
Antoine’s hands tighten on my inner thighs, sending a spiral of heat rushing to my core with such force, I think I would slip beneath the water if he and Liam weren’t holding me up. Antoine’s lips, soft but demanding, make their way from my throat to the center of my chest, and he presses one tender kiss to my sternum before pulling back with panting breaths hot against my skin.
“Hmm.” Liam’s voice rumbles through me, sending shivers across my skin. “Just once?”
I get the feeling he’s not asking me though, and when I look down, I see Antoine’s eyes aren’t fixed on me, but over my shoulder. On Liam.
Antoine nods, pupils blow, lips parted.
“Until today.” I can feel the curve of Liam’s smile against my cheek, hear the amusement lacing his words. “What changed, Antoine? Why kiss her again here? Now? In front of me?”
Antoine’s nostrils flare, a flash of white teeth showing. “You know why.”
His face is close enough to my own now that I could dip my head forward and kiss him, could take that full lower lip in my teeth, suck it in, taste it.
Liam gives a mirthless huff. “You were jealous, weren’t you? Tell me, Antoine—who were you jealous of—me? Or her?”
“I… I was…” Antoine narrows his eyes, jaw clenching. He knows he’s being goaded, knows Liam is trying to get under his skin.
