Page 136 of After the Burn

His face grew stern, his jaw tightening.

My hand found his, and I laced our fingers tightly. “But I am now.” With pleading eyes, I implored him to believe me. “You didn’t deserve it. And I’m sorry, Lucas. Really sorry.”

He was motionless for a brief instant.

Then his hand closed around the back of my neck. I barely had time to inhale before he pulled me across the seat and crushed his mouth to mine.

There was nothing careful about it.

Nothing hesitant.

His kiss was a surrender, as if Lucas had wrestled with the decision for months and finally decided to yield.

My fingers twisted into the front of his shirt as his mouth moved harder over mine. He caught my lower lip between his teeth, and a sharp little sound escaped me before I could stop it.

His grip tightened.

That seemed to be all the encouragement he needed.

He dragged me closer until my knee slid across the torn bench seat and my body pressed against his. One hand stayed tangled in my hair while the other settled hard against my waist.

Every kiss felt like another layer of resentment being burned away.

The principal’s office.

The arguments.

The accusations.

Years of pretending we didn’t matter to each other.

Gone.

I pulled back just enough to breathe, and his forehead hit mine.

“Was that forgiveness?” I whispered.

Lucas’s eyes opened, dark and intense, teetering on the edge of amusement. “No.”

My brows lifted.

His thumb dragged slowly across my bottom lip. "That was me finally admitting I want you.”

My heart stumbled.

“Well,” I breathed softly. “If you'd tried that way earlier, I would've apologized a long time ago.

His mouth curved. “You’re still a menace.”

“Your menace?” I pushed.

His stormy blue eyes locked with mine, and then he kissed me again. “Yeah,” he murmured against my mouth. “Mine.”

The word hit me harder than it should have. Maybe because Lucas had spent so long refusing to claim anything between us.

I smiled against his lips. “For someone who spent months pretending he could barely tolerate me, that sounds dangerously possessive.”

“I did barely tolerate you.” He smirked.