Page 129 of Break the Ice
“Do you honestly think it’s that simple? With all the rumors already going around about me and her? About us?” I shrug, and he asks, “How does any of it help you work through things?”
“It’s not simple, Jayden, and I don’t know how it will help me figure shit out. But I know that it’s better than what we’re doing now. Every time you get too close, you pull away, and Finley gets hurt. It makes things awkward between us, and I hate it.”
“Me, too,” he admits with a sigh. “So how does this work, Eli? What are the rules?”
“I don’t know, JJ. Can’t we figure it out together?”
“What happens when I kiss Finley?” The cock of his brow is challenging.
It takes me a second of waiting to feel jealous or angry for me to realize that, like before when I imagined it, the thought has my insides knotting tight with anticipation.
“How will you feel when I touch her?”
“How do you feel when I touch her? When I kiss her?” A deep flush erupts on his cheeks, all the way to the tips of his ears, as his breathing shallows. It's one of the few times I can be certain that we feel the same way. “I like watching you with Finley, JJ. When you touch her, there’s this thrill inside me, and just the mention of you kissing her excites me.”
“Me, too.” He whispers as Finley comes back into the living area with a beaming smile stamped on her face.
It takes seconds for her to settle beside Jayden. She’s so at ease when he touches his hand to the small of her back.
“So, did you guys decide on dinner?” She asks, glancing between the two of us.
“No,” Jayden says as I tell her, “We didn’t get to it.”
“Summer and I were on the phone for ages...”
“We had to talk,” Jayden retorts. His voice is deep and gravelly.
“About what?” The smile on Fin’s face falters as she stands taller, waiting for us to answer.
“Us,” I reply at the same time as Jayden.
“Oh.” Finley sucks in a deep breath before she tells me, “I’m not picking.”
“You don’t have to,” Jayden says.
“I can’t. I’ll never be able to, and?—”
“That’s okay,” I assure her, even though it only makes her look at me more quizzically. I might be sprouting another head, judging by the way her eyes are bugging.
Jayden spins her towards him, his hands anchoring on her waist when he tells her, “We’ll see where this goes and figure it out.”
“I don’t want to come between the two of you.” The soft expression she levels him with speaks beyond her remark as he draws her flush to him.
“I think it’s where you belong, Fin,” he murmurs into her hair before planting a kiss on her forehead.
I swear his lips have found the perfect spot. Like a home. And it’s got every part of me buzzing.
My feet carry me to them. Nothing makes more sense. Nothing has ever felt this real or as perfect as the moment I grip Finley’s hips and Jayden spins her toward me. He’s still peppering kisses on the top of her head when she beams at me.
I’ve never wanted anything the way that I want her. Right now. With him.
Without a second of thought, I press my lips to her forehead.
My stare connects with Jayden’s—his pupils are blown wide, making his stare darker than I’ve ever known it as he glances down at where my lips are touching Finley’s warm skin. Where his lips were moments ago.
Finley’s groan pulls me closer, flush to her. My body to her body to his body. I can’t breathe past the unrelenting thrum in my chest, throbbing up into my throat when I kiss that spot again. Her hands anchor on my hips, clawing into my flesh above the low-slung band of my shorts.
I want more.
