Page 62 of Ghosted

That soft little sound.

Mine.

Fuck I want another one.

I want to know how many different ways I can pull noise out of her before she stops acting like she doesn’t want me to.

The thought hits hard enough that I stop playing around and run.

Alice hears the change immediately. Her whole body reacts, panic and excitement snapping through her at once, and she looks back right as I close the last few feet between us.

“Jagger—”

I catch her near the stone wall where the cemetery ends and the woods get too thick for the campus lights to reach properly.

She swings at me this time, and misses. My mouth curves as I catch her wrist, turn her, and press her back against the wall. Her camera bag hits the stone with a dull thud, her breath leaves in a sharp rush, and mine follows rougher than I want it to.

The mask slips from my hand and drops into the mud near our boots.

Alice glares up at me, soaked and pissed, chest rising fast under her open jacket. “You’re fucked up, Jagger. Normal people don’t enjoy this shit.”

“Yeah, well I never claimed to be normal.” I pin her wrist beside her head and lean in close. “Normal is over rated. Besides, at least I’m not pretending.”

Her eyes narrow. “I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.” My gaze drops to her mouth, then comes back to her eyes. “You hate that it’s me.”

Her jaw tightens as I settle my free hand at her waist, keeping her against the stone, close enough that I can feel the way she breathes when I touch her. “It’s okay, Alice.”

Her expression flickers. “What is?”

My mouth curves. “Wanting it.”

“Don’t.”

“Wanting the chase.” My thumb drags once over her hip. “The fear. Wanting me to catch you.”

Her breath catches, and she looks furious about it which only makes my cock throb more.

“You don’t know what I want,” she says.

“I know enough.” I lean closer, voice lower now, rougher. “I know you’re standing here with your hands on me, looking at my mouth like you’re still deciding whether to bite it or kiss it.”

Her mouth twitches before she kills it, and fuck, I like that too much.

I press closer, just enough to make the stone bite into the bag at her back. “You can call me insane. You can shove me. You can run again if that makes you feel better.” My gaze drops to her lips. “But don’t stand here acting like wanting me is the worst thing you’ve done tonight.”

Her eyes search mine, sharp and angry and way too honest.

“It might be,” she whispers.

My smile goes slow.

“Then make it worth it.”

For a second, Alice just stares at me like she hates me.

Then her hand fists in my hoodie and she pulls me in.