We Fall Like Ashes | Wildfire Series

Seventeen: Purgatory

First of all, I should have been out the door like a half-hour ago.

And second of all, if I got back in bed, I would lose the last shred of self-control that I had left.

I'd already lost most of it, considering the whole tongue-fucking thing. But that came after the whole no-shirt thing. And the Beau-please thing. And the don't-say-that-you've-tasted-other-people thing.

Honestly, what was I supposed to do? I'd needed her in some way, and that just seemed like the way to do it. Teasing that little clit until she pressed my head into her pussy and begged for more definitely seemed like the way to do it.

Fuck, I wanted more of her, though. That taste wasn't enough. God, who was I kidding? It would never be enough. But if I fucked Collins, she was mine. If she touched me again, she was mine. Being friends with her wasn't going to work for me. And that included friends-with-benefits. I didn't like the blurry lines involved in that or the confusion it would cause me. It would only lead to more arguments between my dick and my brain and my heart, and I was already struggling enough in that department.

The three of us were not in agreement at the moment.

So here I was in the bathroom, trying to figure out what the hell to do now. Besides the obvious: shower and get my ass out the door.

Sighing, I flicked the faucet on and stepped beneath the cold water, hoping it would get my raging body temperature under control. Holy motherfucking Jesus Christ, I couldn't believe that just happened. Had Christmas come earlier, or what? Although as much as I was a giddy-fucking-fool, today would be a hard one. Because I didn't even have time to jerk one off before I was rinsing off and wrapping a towel around my waist.

Collins was gone when I strode out of the bathroom, which was probably for the best in the grand scheme of things. Another glimpse of her in my bed would have sent me plummeting further into purgatory.

Yep, I was playing the waiting game now. Floating somewhere between heaven and hell, trying to figure out what my verdict would be when it came to Collins Bryant.

After throwing on my base layers and grabbing my winter gear, I flew out into the kitchen, where I found four pairs of eyes staring in my direction. Bren peered at me over his coffee. Grayson leaned back into his chair with a smirk. Nessa bounced eagerly on her toes, and Madie was fighting a smile as she plopped a strawberry into her mouth.

I looked around for Collins, but she wasn't in sight.

Clearing my throat, I nodded at them. "Hey, guys."

Be cool, dude. Don't be obvious.

"Where's Collins?"

Goddamnit. Obvious. That was very obvious.

Nessa raised a brow. "She ran from your room to hers like fifteen minutes ago."

"In your clothes," Bren added before switching to the other side of the kitchen island and wrapping his arms around Madie from behind.

I relaxed a little. Assumptions, I could handle. If they'd said I don't know, but I heard her moan your name earlier....then we might have had problems.

"Yeah, well, you two—" I said, pointing at Nessa and Grayson before grabbing a piece of toast off of the stack. "—were putting on a show in the living room, and we didn't want to interrupt."

Nessa turned a definite shade of pink, but Grayson only chuckled.

"We moved the show to the bedroom pretty quick," he said. "But you're free to use us as an excuse for keeping her all night. That's fine, man. I'm here for you."