Page 38 of Hush (Fighting Fate)

Vinnie stood in the doorway, an apologetic expression on his face. “Sorry, man. TJ wanted me to tell you he needs you in his office in twenty minutes.”

I sighed heavily. “Fine. Now fuck off!”

I watched the door close, wishing I could lock it with my mind, then carefully released my hold on Kaeli’s throat, but it seemed that was as far as I could make myself get from her. I forced myself to at least remove bodily contact, and pressed my hands to the wall either side of her head.

With the weight of everything hanging over my

head, I lowered my forehead onto her shoulder. “I’m so sorry,” I whispered.

What else could I say?

Chapter 29

Kaeli

I swallowed, testing my emotions. In that moment when Mitch had pushed me against the wall, I’d felt his panic. I didn’t know what was going on, but I knew I had to go with it.

My body had reacted to it, sending my heart racing, and my head into a swirl of confusion, but he hadn’t frightened me. The second Vinnie had thumped on the door and come in, I understood what he was doing. His quick thinking was keeping us both safe. My heart couldn’t help but warm for him.

I stood, pinned to the wall, although this time, Mitch’s forehead was the only part of him that was touching me. The curve of his neck was right before me, within kissing distance if I should dare. I wondered what it’d feel like to press my lips to his warm skin. The swirling pattern of his tattoo that ran down the side of his neck seemed to invite me in.

Without any more thought, I reached up between our bodies, and touched the inky patterns with my fingertips, letting them slowly trace the patterns from his jaw, downwards. I felt Mitch still under my touch, his breath stopping suddenly, and I found myself becoming still with him, my fingers lingering on his skin.

Slowly, he raised his head. Not enough to look at me, but just enough for his lips to taste the bare skin on my shoulder if he wanted to. I felt his breath start again, caressing me in a way that made something inside me ache. I slid my fingers over his skin until my hand was cupping the side of his neck. Then his lips brushed against my skin.

He moved so slowly, his touch like the soft kiss of butterfly wings, tracing a line from the curve of my shoulder, across my collarbone. I found myself tilting my head to the side, exposing my neck, inviting him in, and when he obliged, I let out a soft sigh of fulfillment.

“Kaeli,” he whispered against my neck.

His voice sounded pained. I didn’t want him to hurt. Hesitantly, I slid my free hand to his waist, feeling the smooth warmth of his bare skin under my touch.

His lips were against my jaw, so tender and careful. He would be so easy to kiss from this position. If I just turned my head a little…

That little voice of reason that had been trying to tell me it was wrong to be attracted to Mitch was nowhere to be heard. Maybe she knew there was no point. It was obvious there was some kind of magnet between us.

When Mitch’s hands slipped down to my waist, his fingers brushing softly over my naked flesh, I gave up completely. My mouth met his with caution.

It was just like our last kiss, soft and unsure, but this time the tension between us was insurmountable. His fingers tightened against my back, and my lips parted in resignation. I felt so safe when I was with him. I wanted to feel that all the time. I pushed my body against his, and ran my hands over his short, prickly hair. I wanted to lick the piercing he had in his bottom lip. I wanted to suck it into my mouth and taste it. He groaned deep in his throat and moved his hands over my body, caressing every part of me.

A foreign sound escaped me. I wasn’t sure what it was. It was somewhere between a moan and a sigh. Whatever it was though, it made Mitch’s hands tighten, pulling me harder against him. But almost immediately after that, he pulled away, stepping back and turning his back on me. I watched him run his hands over his head, lacing his fingers together behind his head and clamping his head between his arms. He growled deeply, as though he was in pain.

I stood against the wall, feeling very vulnerable in just my bra and panties – somehow my shirt had fallen to the floor while we were kissing. I didn’t know what was going on, why he would pull away from me when I was obviously very willing.

The see-saw of my conscience abruptly swung, tilting away from my attraction and taking me back to feeling ashamed. I had no idea what was going on with me. No wonder I felt so exhausted lately.

Eventually he turned back to face me with a troubled gaze. I noticed this time his eyes were brown. I didn’t know how I hadn’t seen them when he was looking at me before. I guessed I’d still been too shaken, but I was amazed by how much the brown changed the whole look of his face.

His eyes softened a little when they met mine, then he picked up my skirt and walked over to hand it to me. I took it without saying a thing. I was way too confused to use words. He didn’t say anything either. He just gave me a strange look then went over to his chest of draws, and started rifling through the top one.

I shakily stepped into my skirt, then slipped my shirt back on, trying to work out how to best keep myself covered now all my buttons were missing. I pulled it together as best I could and tucked it in to my skirt.

Mitch stepped in front of me and held up a safety pin. “Here,” he said.

I looked at him steadily before taking the pin off him and threading it through my shirt, between my boobs. He watched me until I’d finished, then held out a small black cellphone.

“I already have a cell,” I said, a little confused.

“Yours is monitored.” He handed me a tiny piece of paper with a number written on it. “This is a spare. I want you to take it. Text me when you know you’re coming here. That way I can make sure I’m always here when you come. Memorize the number. Don’t program it in the cell.”

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