Page 50 of Cinder & Secrets
“Why are you here, River?” I finally ask to break the thick tension in the car. Tension so thick not even Maisie, as drunk as she is, dares to speak.
“Why? Let’s see. Maybe because I no more than pulled into my apartment complex and I got a picture of you, dressed in that.” He throws me a sideways glance, his heated gaze tracing the length of my dress before his eyes find the road once more.
“So? It was just a picture. It doesn’t explain why you drove nearly three hours when you were already home.”
“Doesn’t it?”
“I thought you’d like it,” I admit, my voice low.
“I did.” His nostrils flare, but he doesn’t look my way again. “Maybe that’s the problem.”
I open my mouth to speak about a hundred different times, only to end up snapping it closed, unsure of what to say.
It isn’t until we pull up outside of our dorm that River’s voice fills the car once more.
“Maisie, are you good to find your way to your room?” he asks, his eyes finding hers in the rearview mirror.
“Yep.” She nods, glancing my way as she pushes the door open. “Good luck,” she mouths before slipping out of the car and closing the door.
We both watch her cross the parking lot in silence, neither of us saying a single word until she disappears inside the building.
“You told her about us?” His voice is eerily hard.
“She put it together.”
“And you didn’t think that was information I should be made aware of?”
“It never came up.” It’s a lousy excuse, but it’s the best I have at the moment. “She won’t say anything,” I try to reassure him.
“Until she does,” he grumbles. “She knows everything?” He confirms.
“She does.”
He blows out a hard breath.
“Why are you really here, River, and don’t give me some bullshit excu—” My words die on my lips when River’s fingers close around the back of my neck and he pulls me to him, his mouth swallowing my gasp of surprise.
He kisses me frantically, deeply, thoroughly, until I swear the whole world has tipped sideways, casting me off balance.
When he finally pulls away, I’m breathless, my cheeks flushed, my lips swollen, my entire body aching in the best possible way.
“Tell me you’re mine,” he murmurs against my mouth, pressing his lips to mine again, a soft peck that I swear I feel all the way down to my toes.
“I’m yours.” My fingers find his hair, tangling in the soft strands.
I pull back abruptly when something I hadn’t considered before hits me like a slap across the face.
“Is that why you’re here? You saw that picture and thought what? That I was going to hook up with another guy?”
His gaze doesn’t meet mine, confirming my suspicion.
“Look at me,” I demand, not continuing until the dark green of his eyes comes into view. “Do you really think so little of me? That I would no more than leave your bed and crawl into someone else’s?” I ask, a little less offended than maybe I normally would be, thanks in large part to Jose, whose buzz is still swimming heavily in my veins.
“We never talked about...” He shakes his head. “We aren’t exclusive. You have every right to sleep with another man if you so choose.”
“And would you be upset if I did?”
“Would you be upset ifIdid?” He turns the question on me.
