Page 28 of Wanna Bet?

She stepped closer. Not enough to touch him, but enough that he noticed. His breath caught, subtle but unmistakable, and the sound of it sent a slow, curling warmth through her middle.

“You’re staring,” she murmured.

“So are you.”

A faint smile tugged at her mouth, slow and knowing. “Maybe I like what I see.”

She watched the words land, watched the exact second his jaw tightened–not in discomfort, not in resistance, but in restraint–and something low and electric coiled inside her stomach at the sight of it.

Her voice dropped when she said his name. “Jace.”

“Yeah?”

Instead of answering, she closed the remaining distance and slid her hand slowly up the front of his shirt, fingers curling lightly in the fabric as she leaned in and pressed her mouth to his.

The kiss wasn’t tentative. It wasn’t cautious or shy or uncertain. It was pure heat. Immediate and consuming, like striking a match in a dark room.

His breath caught sharply against her lips before he kissed her back, and when he did it felt like something inside him had given way all at once. His hand came to her waist instinctively, fingers tightening just enough to pull her closer as if the space between them had suddenly become intolerable. The contact sent a rush of warmth flooding through her, quick and dizzying, and she answered without hesitation, her other hand sliding to the back of his neck, her fingers slipping into his hair as she kissed him deeper.

The quiet sound that left him–low and involuntary–sparked through her like live current.

It did something dangerous to her composure. Something hungry.

She angled her head, her mouth parting against his as the kiss slowed and deepened, savoring instead of testing, learning the shape of him through touch alone. His thumb traced along her side in a distracted, almost unconscious motion, and the light drag of it made her stomach flip hard, heat pooling low and sudden in a way that stole the edge from her breath.

When she pressed closer, their bodies aligned without thought, warmth meeting warmth, and his grip tightened just slightly, like he needed to be certain she was still there. His hand lifted to her jaw, fingers spreading along her cheek as he tilted her face, deepening the kiss with a quiet intensity that made her knees feel unsteady beneath her.

Her thoughts dissolved into sensation: the warmth of his mouth, the soft brush of his breath, the way he exhaled through his nose every time she kissed him like he was trying to stay steady and failing. When her teeth grazed lightly over his lower lip, his fingers tightened in her hair and a faint, wrecked sound slipped from his throat, the reaction sending a sharp pulse of heat straight through her.

She pulled back only enough to breathe, their foreheads resting together, noses brushing, lips still grazing every time either of them moved slightly.

“Myah,” he murmured, her name low and unsteady on his tongue.

The way he said it–like it mattered, like she mattered–made her chest tighten so suddenly it almost hurt. She was sure her ribs were bruised at this point.

She kissed him again before she could think.

This time he met her immediately, his mouth warm and sure against hers. His hand still tangled in her hair as the kiss deepened into something slow and heavy and full of wanting. Her fingers tightened in his shirt, anchoring herself to him as his breath stuttered softly between them, the world beyond their shared space fading until nothing existed but warmth and pressure and the steady pull drawing them closer.

When they finally separated, it wasn’t because either of them wanted to. It was because breathing had started to feel optional.

Her lips hovered a fraction from his, her chest rising and falling as she looked at him. His eyes were dark, dazed, and fixed on hers like he hadn’t quite come back to earth yet.

“So…” she whispered.

He swallowed once, still watching her. “So.”

A slow, heat-dazed smile curved across her mouth.

“You should walk me home more often.”

Chapter Seven

From: Project Win

​You can’t just not eat breakfast! It’s the most important meal of the day.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ━━━━⊱༒︎ • ༒︎⊰━━━━ ⋆⁺₊⋆