Page 60 of Ember Meadow
I shouldn’t be this worked up, but he really hurt me the other night. Even if I was a little out of my mind. The last thing I need is Miles coming over here and making me feel worse than I already do.
“Stop saying I hate you, Katie,” Miles yells, catching me off guard. I jump a few inches in the air. “Shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell. I just– I can’t stand when you say that.” He moves closer to me, closing the distance between us. My heart rate speeds up at his close proximity, my hands itching to reach out and grab him. I hold them crossed to my chest as tight as I can.
Miles stares at me for what feels like an eternity, but is probably only thirty seconds, and shakes his head. “God, you’re so infuriating,” he says softly. I can barely hear him over the sound of the fireworks.
“Excuse me?” My hand comes up over my chest as I step back. He follows immediately, as if pulled by an invisible force. His jaw hardens as he holds my gaze, crowding over me. I lean into him slightly, pulled by that same force.
“Oh, don’t act like you don’t know what you do to me,” he grumbles. “You make it your goal to push my limits. You have to know you areconstantlyin my head. No matter what I do, or where I am, you’re like a tapeworm in my brain or something. It’sinfuriating.Right when I get you out of my head, you show back up here to torture my mind again saying I hate you. As if I could ever hate you. And then, I get around you and I say the wrong things, and it’s not what I mean. It’s like my brain doesn’t function properly or something.”
My chest rises and falls, my breathing picking up speed. I’m torn between hating him for everything he just said and taunting him some more to see if he’ll push me up against the wall at my back. I can’t remember the last time I was this turned on. Brimming with red-hot need.
Maybe four years ago, in a bar in Utah.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
“Did you just compare me to a tapeworm?” I say dryly. “So much for becoming friends.”
Boom. Boom.Bright, purple light covers the ranch.
“I don’t want to be your friend,” he growls.
“Great. Thanks for saying that. I didn’t really need confirmation, but what’s another hit while I’m down, I guess,” I start to step around him, eager to get to my car and get out of here before I start to cry. “I don’t really feel like watching fireworks tonight, I’m going back to my cabin–”
“Katie, stop.” Miles grabs my arm as I try to squeeze around him. His hand is warm on my skin, sending shivers up my spine. Where I expect to see anger and annoyance on his face, there’s something softer.
His eyes dart down to my lips and linger there, sending a warm feeling straight to my gut. It’s so hard to stay mad at him when he looks at me like that. Like he wants me as much as I want him. A low sound comes from the back of his throat, like he’s physically restraining himself from me.
“What do you want, Miles?” I watch as the final thread of his control snaps.
“What do I want?” He laughs, but there’s no humor in his eyes. “What I want is to be able to control myself when I’m around you.” He sighs, resting his forehead on mine. My eyes fall shut. “I would light the world on fire just to keep you warm, Katie. And, I’m not sure what to do with that.”
Before I can even begin to process his admission, Miles leans in, crashing his lips into mine.
For a split second, I’m so surprised I don’t know what to do. He looks just as shocked as I am, his brown eyes wide as he realizes what he just did. He starts to pull away from me, but I grab his shirt in my fist, pulling him back in to me.
I’m not letting him go this time.
He kisses me back, his tongue sweeping past my lips, setting off sparks. The fireworks behind us go off every couple of seconds lighting up the sky. He groans over the loud booms as he wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me in. Rough calluses brush through my thin dress, scraping along my hip bones.
He tastes like longing and cedar wood andmine.
He’s not my anything,I remind myself. I’m losing my mind.
I feel something hard at my back as he pushes me backward. The cabin. It’s freeing, being under his control. Letting him tower over me, pin me against the wall, his weight pushing up against me. For once, I’m not in charge of anything.
And I love it.
My palms press against his chest, finally set free to touch him. It feels like all summer has been leading to this. Every memory of four years ago, every heated glance, every argument. We fit together so well. Fighting it feels wrong, but this feels so right. His hips push up against mine, setting off an involuntary hum from my throat.
Sparks ignite in my heart, just like the fireworks going off all around us. Saying Miles is the best kisser I’ve ever had is an under exaggeration. I forgot how mind-blowing kissing him is. His lips claim mine like he knows me. Like we’ve been doing this forever. We melt into each other as I frantically grab at his collar, like I can’t get close enough to him.
We are explosive.
My hands find his beard scruff as he kisses my jaw, then my neck, then right below my ear. I’m burning up, my entire body warming at his touch. The air feels twenty degrees warmer than when we started talking. I feel like a living flame.
Fire.
The word repeats on a loop in my head as his lips return to mine, claiming me in a rough kiss.
