I assure Eleanor that’s not the case and that she has enough time left to shake off the hangover. When she’s able to sit up eventually, I decide it’s time for me to go. The ten messages and calls I ignored from Aran are starting to bug me, too. But I was busy doing recon, so he’ll have no choice but to accept that.
“Hex,” Eleanor croaks just as I reach the door. “Wait. Give me your number. I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know how my proposition goes.”
I pause, hand wrapped around the doorknob. I don’t think that’s a good idea in case shit goes south. The less connections she has to me, the better for both of us. “I have a better idea. Why don’t we meet up? There’s a super nice taco place on the top deck.”
She chews on her bottom lip. “I’m not really supposed to leave the cabin.”
I roll my eyes. “That doesn’t mean youcan’t. You needed a walk, or you were hungry. I’m sure they will understand.”
She still looks unsure, but she nods. “Okay. I’ll think of something. Maybe when they go off for lunch…”
“Perfect! I’ll meet you at the taco restaurant then. Let’s say between twelve and two p.m.”
She considers that, grabs her phone and checks something on it. “Okay, yeah. I can do one p.m. It’s when my lunch break is.”
Tucking my hands in my pockets, I wink at her. “One p.m. tomorrow at the taco place. I can’t wait!”
She sends me off with a wink of her own. I pass by the still partying people with a smile on my face, because despite my ulterior motives, I feel like I’ve made a new friend.
19
Aran
Myheartfinallysettlesback inside my chest when Hex returns. He’s smiling and humming some kind of melody as he enters the lounge, but I can detect a hint of uncertainty under his good mood.
“Tien—”
“I know, I know! And I’m sorry that I didn’t pick up.” He pulls out his phone and shoves it in my face. “But I did it! With this, I can get us into that secondary network, I promise!”
I want to hug him. But I also want to shake him until his pretty head gets how worried he makes me when I have no idea where he is or what he is doing. It’s a character flaw of mine, I suppose, but it only ever gets so bad when it comes to him, which, in hindsight, should have clued me in ages ago about how deep this thing I feel toward him goes.
Taking a deep breath, I stand from the chair and ruffle his hair. “Good job. But keep me in the loop next time. If you can’t talk, send me a quick text… Anything.” I stifle down a sigh. Mostly. “I was really worried, and I didn’t know where to even look—”
His mouth shuts me up, hot and eager. His taste is sweet and dark at the same time, invading all of me as he prods past my lips with his tongue. I should stop this, but I can’t. It’s simply impossible. My body is alight within seconds, every nerve-ending singing as we deepen the kiss. Our tongues entangle, chasing each other like it’s a life-or-death matter. It’s the best feeling ever, the adrenaline and arousal within me mixing into something ten times more potent.
I’ve never experienced this—to be wanted so much and so absolutely. It’s head-spinning. His small, lean hands roam my back and then sides, touching anything they can get to. Mine follow suit, feeling him up shamelessly until I’ve memorized every curve that makes up his form.
His mouth demands more of me with every second that passes, greedy and unstoppable. He’s in control and I can’t fight it, not when I’ve wanted to taste him since I can remember. To have him in my arms, to know what his body feels like plastered against mine.
“Aran,” he purrs, his tenor like honey and silk. He breaks the kiss, and his mouth follows the angle of my jaw until it reaches my ear. “Touch me, please. I want to feel good.”
My breath catches, goosebumps rising all over me. My heart is beating so fast and loud that for a moment it’s the only thing I can hear. But then Hex nips on my earlobe, shooting a spark of desire through me. His hand slides from my shoulder down my arm, then flank, passing my hip and cupping my hard cock.
The touch is tentative, experimental. Uncommitting. Yet, it disables all my higher brain functions, reducing me to something led only by primal instinct which dictates I claim what is mine.
Groaning, I grab him by the neck and smash our mouths together, this time not letting him boss me around. It’s like a switch has flipped inside me, erasing all my self-control and common sense.
I want him. I want him too much to stop this. My hand is already kneading his ass as I walk him backwards toward the thick window and trap him between the cool glass and my burning body. He yelps in surprise and then moans as I flip him around and press my erection against his crease. My hand curls around his dick, gliding once from root to tip and ripping out of him the loveliest cry of pleasure I’ve heard anyone make.
“Yes. This. Very good. Please, keep going,” he rambles, trying to fuck into my hand.
He cranes his head to the side, half-burying his face into the front of my shoulder. His eyes are closed and he’s biting on his bottom lip.
Heat floods me, bringing with it a lingering hint of his sweet taste. The need to kiss him again overwhelms me, and I want to feel his slick hot tongue as it roams my mouth eagerly.
“I’ve lost my mind, Tien. I shouldn’t be doing this. None of it,” I whisper against his hair, inhaling him in. Letting things get out of hand earlier, and now this… It’s the biggest yet sweetest mistake in my life.
He shudders and the shivers flow through his body into mine. “Yes. Totally. You should’ve done this years ago.”
