“What are you doing?” I whisper, needing to know where this is going.
Please let it be where I want it to be.
His eyes bounce between mine as if he’s battling some kind of internal war.
My breath catches when his arm lifts and his hand wraps around the side of my neck, his thumb resting on my jaw.
“Kodie,” I whimper, unable to keep it in.
I wanted to moan his name so badly that night, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t let him know the truth.
His chest heaves, the heat of his body searing the front of mine.
I swear time ceases to exist as I silently beg him to kiss me.
Me.
Not the woman in the mask, butme.
Casey Watson.
The forbidden daughter of his?—
He leans forward, and my eyelids lower as my tongue drags along my bottom lip in preparation.
Kiss me. Please.
Kiss me.
His lips are a hair’s breadth from mine. He’s going to do it.
He’s going to?—
“Casey?” My best friend’s voice pierces through the air, and he jumps back as if I burned him.
No.
“Kodie?” I whisper as ice quickly replaces the lava that was filling my veins only moments ago.
“Go,” he instructs, his voice hard and commanding.
He sounds just like he did that night when he was making dirty demands, but this is a very different situation. It takes everything I have not to sob in disappointment.
“Case?” Parker calls again.
“This isn’t over,” I state quietly before I step out of the alleyway he’d pulled me into.
“Hey, what’s up?” I ask, attempting to sound innocent and failing miserably.
Her eyes hold mine for a beat before they jump to the darkness behind me.
“What were you—Oh my god. Were you with him?”
“Shush,” I hiss, glancing back over my shoulder as if he’s going to walk out and make his presence known.
He’s not. He will hide as if he’s ashamed of being anywhere near me.
I know that’s not true—hell, I hope it’s not. His hiding and not wanting anyone to know what happened between us is a hell of a lot more serious than a little bit of shame.
