Turning to Stone (Heart of Stone: Book 2)

Chapter 35: Party, Pt 2

Still, now would be a great time for another interruption.

When Mike's gaze met mine again, though, there was no arrogance, or pity, or ill intent in it. I'd seen the way he'd been looking at Becca all evening—the small touches, the pride, the affection—so hopefully he interpreted it the same way as me: an acknowledgement that we could share a memory without needing to bury it.

A good thirty seconds too late, the kitchen door swung open, and Charlotte stumbled inside, laughing, with Ed on her heels. His blue eyes pinballed between Mike and me sitting together, but his smile didn't falter.

One day I'd be able to distinguish the real from the faux, but that day wasn't today.

"Why are you hiding away in here?" Charlotte demanded, propping an accusatory hand on her hip.

"Just needed five minutes," I said. "You finished monopolising my boyfriend's attention yet?"

She flashed me a grin, bright teeth extra white against her bronzed makeup.

"I'm working on cracking him," she said. "Nobody is this perfect."

I laughed when Ed arched an amused brow at me. Charlotte could see through the bullshit, but she had met him before—her own birthday at Escala—and he'd been in his own environment then.

"Give me a hand with these drinks, Mike?" she asked.

Once they'd left Ed and me alone, I reached up to hook a finger in the neck of his shirt, tugging his face down to me. Our lips collided, and his tongue pushed inside my mouth without hesitation, slicking over mine for the briefest of seconds before retreating.

Instant heat bloomed in my core. He remained standing, towering over me, as I skimmed my fingertips over his broad shoulders, along the outer edges of his throat, and up into his hair. Clutching the soft tufts, I angled his face to deepen the kiss, searching for his tongue again, desperate to taste him after spending so long enduring his attractive charm and charisma without being able to act on it.

A velvety moan tickled my lips and vibrated all the way down my body to settle between my legs. I rose from my seat to stand, and our bodies melded together like two magnets. His warm palms bracketed my waist and squeezed my flesh through the thin fabric of my chiffon shirt, but his mouth disengaged from mine.

"I know you've just been talking to Mike, but don't get any ideas about dragging me into a bathroom." One hand left my waist and wrapped around my shoulder to push me down into my seat again.

I scoffed, unimpressed with the abrupt conclusion to a very enjoyable kiss, but at least his joke was a positive step forwards from his initial insecurity. Maybe his own conversations with Mike had reassured him that he had nothing to fear.

"I was actually trying to make the most of our time alone." I leaned back and folded my arms.

"Evidently." He sat down next to me, looping his arm over the top of my chair and brushing his thumb against my shoulder.

"You're allowed to kiss me in public, you know," I said. "I promise I can control myself."

A deep chuckle, far too sensual for my current state of mind, rumbled from his chest. "Don't sulk. I know it's hard to keep your hands off me when I'm so perfect, but—"

I kicked his ankle but couldn't keep my smile at bay. "I take back what I said earlier. If the perfect act means I don't get to kiss you whenever I want, then it's fucking annoying—not hot."

He breathed off a gentle laugh, and then the glint in his eyes faded to a more serious smoulder.

"Were you okay? What brought you in here in the first place?"