Page 49 of Before We Break

“Tell me the truth. Are you wet for me, Clio?”

“I—”

I press my lips to her shoulder this time. “If I slip my hand under this tight little skirt, what will I find?”

“Someone will see,” she hisses.

“Mm. Is that a yes?”

She whimpers as I slip three fingers beneath her waistband, resting them on her lower belly. I don’t go any farther.

“Noah.” She whines my name, and my cock twitches in answer.

“Do you need to be fucked, princess?” I run my tongue along the slope of her shoulder.

I didn’t come here for this. In fact, I came here so I wouldn’t do this, but now that we’re here I can’t seem to stop. I need her now more than ever.

“We can’t,” she whispers. “The contract.”

I know this is dangerous.

I know I’ll regret it in the morning.

But I say it anyway.

“Fuck the contract.”

CLIO

Before I have time to respond, a hand wraps around my wrist and wrenches me away from Noah.

“Bathroom. Now.” Callie drags me along, parting the crowd.

When I peek back over my shoulder, Noah’s gone. There’s an empty space where he once stood, and a hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Callie turns on the water and douses a paper towel, dabbing it on her chest and neck. “What the fuck were you thinking?”

I stare blankly at her.

“You were practically fucking Noah Weston on the dance floor, Clio.”

“Who pulled us out there in the first place, Callie?” I spit her name like a curse. “What did you think was going to happen?”

“Dancing,” she shouts. “That’s what dance floors are for. I didn’t think you would take it that far.”

“Nothing happened.” There’s an unexpected tinge of disappointment in my voice.

“Yeah. Because I stopped it.” She grabs me by the upper arms and forces me to look in the mirror above the sink. “You have a hickey!”

I press my hand to the red mark between my neck and shoulder. Something inside my chest flutters wildly. I look at Callie in the mirror, and I snort, unable to contain my amusement. She starts laughing too, and soon there are tears tracking down my cheeks, and she’s doubled over, clutching her stomach.

“You were just supposed to play with your food, not let him devour you.”

I laugh harder at the nonsensical comparison. “Wait. Who’s the food in this scenario? Are we animals? I’m confused.”

She waves a dismissive hand and straightens. “I don’t even know. That last drink might’ve been one too many.”

Her arms band around my shoulders and she leans her head against mine. “I needed this. We should do it more often… minus the hickeys.”