I shift, pressing her more firmly against the side of the truck, one hand tangled in her hair, the other slipping to her waist, gripping tight, not wanting to lose her if I let go. Her hips arch into mine, and for one white-hot second, I forget we’re standing in the middle of the desert. I forget everything but the feel of her.
We know each other’s mouths too well to pretend this is just another kiss. This isn’t about attraction, it’s about survival. About needing to feel something that doesn’t hurt.
Our tongues meet in a clash of frustration and fury, a mess of too many emotions and not enough time. I kiss her deeper, slower, like I’m trying to tell her things I’ll never say out loud.
I’m still here.
I’m not leaving.
Not unless you make me.
The taste of her is wildfire, salt, anger, and something softer hidden underneath it all that makes my knees go weak.
It’s not just a kiss, it’s a reckoning. A line crossed. A fuse lit.
When we break apart for air, it’s not clean. It’s ragged. Torn. Her breath brushes my lips like a curse. My forehead drops to hers, both of us shaking from the impact.
“You ruin me,” I whisper against her lips.
The corner of her lips turns up. “Takes two to crash and burn, Presley.” She leans on her toes to kiss me again, then, suddenly, her phone rings.
The sound cuts through the desert silence, comparable to agunshot, and we both jump apart like we’ve been electrocuted. Clover rushes for her phone, and her eyes go wide when she looks at the screen. “It’s Maverick,” she breathes.
My heart stops as she scrambles so fast, almost dropping her cell in the chaos to swipe the screen, putting it on speaker with trembling hands. “M-Mav?” Her voice cracks on his name.
“Clover?” Maverick’s voice comes through clear as day, and I’ve never been so relieved to hear another human being in my entire life. “Jesus, thank fuck. Where the hell have you two been? We’ve been trying to reach you for hours,” he states down the line.
Clover’s eyes meet mine, and they instantly well up as she bursts into tears. Not the angry, frustrated tears from before, but pure, overwhelming relief.
At the same time, I lean against the truck for the support I need right now. I hate to admit it, but I honestly thought the club was gone, and I had no fucking clue what the hell we were going to do.
I sure am glad to hear his voice.
“Are you okay?” Clover sobs into the phone. “Are you safe? Iseveryonesafe?”
“We’re fine,” Maverick chimes, his voice gentle in a way I’ve rarely heard. “We’re all fine, Clo. What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
“We thought—” She can’t finish the sentence, her tears overwhelming her ability to speak.
Weakly smiling, I take the phone from her. “Maverick, it’s Phoenix.”
“Phoenix, what the fuck’s going on? Why is my sister having a mental breakdown?”
I run a hand through my hair, trying to figure out how to best explain without sounding like a complete asshole. “We’ve been trying to reach you since yesterday morning. The sat phone died,our cells were out of range, and when we couldn’t get through to anyone…” I leave the ending open to interpretation.
“You thought the Cartel had attacked,” Maverick finishes, understanding immediately.
“Yeah.”
He sighs heavily. “Shit. Sorry, man. The only reason we didn’t answer when you called is because Sadie and I were… well,occupied.”
Clover looks up at me through her tears, and I see her processing what that means.
“Occupied how?” I ask, though I’m not sure I want to know.
“Let’s just say we were both in the shower when you called and completely lost track of time,” Maverick states, and I hear the embarrassment in his voice. “By the time we saw the missed calls and tried to call the sat phone back, it wasn’t responding.”
Clover and I look at each other, both drawing the same conclusion.
