What did she do? She rolled her lips into her mouth. Theoretically zipping it shut and silently promising she wasn’t going to admit shit.
I shook my head. “Alright. Remember that you made me do this.”
“Do whaa—ah!” she squeaked as I dipped my head down and bit gently at her neck. “What are you doing!”
I shrugged but didn’t remove my mouth from her skin. “You bit me first. I'm biting back.”
“Not likethis!” she cried. A smile tilted the corner of my mouth as I dragged my teeth up her smooth skin toward the place behind her ear. She shivered again, hard this time and grasped onto my shoulders. I couldn’t tell if she was moving me away or pulling me forward, one hand doing one of each. Breathless she said, “Okay, okay! I'm sorry for being a brat.”
“Not good enough,” I murmured. “Tell me why it matters.”
“No.”
I bit down on her earlobe and she jerked. I don’t know if she knew her hips were inclining toward me, but I wasn’t fighting her on it. In her ear I continued, “Tell me.”
“Connor, no.”
Moving along her jaw, my mouth found its way in front of hers, my hand still wrapped loosely around the base of her throat, holding her in place but no longer squeezing. It just looked so damn good the way it decorated her skin. She moaned quietly, so close I could taste it on my tongue. Fighting the all-consuming urge to lean forward and make that mouth mine, I rasped. “Tell me, Ceci.”
She whimpered. “Con—”
“Connor Ferguson, I know you’re in here! You ran Ceci off with your bad mood and now you’re being rude to your friends. Stop hiding in here and come downstairs,” A voice said. It was my sister again.
“Uh oh,” I murmured over her mouth.
“What?” she asked.
“She’s like a bloodhound when she’s on a mission. She’s going to find us,” I tsked a little disingenuously. It almost made me feel bad when her eyes went wide with alarm.
Almost.
“Let me out then,” she said, squirming.
“Not until you tell me.”
“Con,” she whined. My finger brushed low on her throat and back up, outlining the curves of her neck. Outside the closet, we heard my sister getting closer and in response Cee got more anxious. “Please.”
“You know what I want.” My hand brushed back up her skin again, cupping her jaw. My thumb finding her lip and playing with the plump pink round of it. I loved the way her skin felt under my fingertips, and if she wasn't stopping this, neither was I. “Just tell me, baby.”
Outside the door, we could hear footsteps now. Discovery nearing closer, racking my own heartbeat up like I know hers had to be.
Her mouth parted, her chin inclining as she unconsciously chased my touch. But something seemed to grab hold of her. A decision—and it caused her to pull her gaze down to mine. In it, I saw so much. More than I’d ever seen before. But front and center was a sort of vulnerability. It had me pausing in my teasing and looking at her with the same openness that she looked at me.
Her eyes moved to the door, but I had the feeling she wasn’t worrying about Tine showing up. Just as quickly as they shied away they came back, her lip going between her teeth as she bit at it nervously. Rubbing my palm along the side of her face, I hoped to give her support without pulling her out of the decision to open up.
Finally, looking up at me through her eyelashes she mumbled, “You’re mine too.”
Fuck.
Fuck. I wasn’t expecting that. Wasn’t prepared for it. Not from Ceci. Not from little miss “like my best friend person”,little miss oblivious. The words were a shot right to my heart. They had me coughing out a strangled sound as I asked, “What?”
She glared. “You’re mine. My best friend, my person, mine. And if you want to date, that’s fine, I guess. But I want to know what’s going on with you. I don’t want to get left behind.”
I looked at her. Her eyes were still saucer sized. Still open and vulnerable and looking at me with an expression I’m almost positive was designed just for me. One that not many, if anyone had seen before. And even though her words weren’t exactly right, weren’t exactly what I wanted to hear, she was giving me what she could. And that had to be okay.
I don’t want to get left behind.
I blew out a breath. I wanted to tell her it was more than that. That it had to be. But I didn’t. Because if that’s all she could give right now, it’s all I would take.
