Page 253 of Rush
“Yep. So you better make it good.”
He brushes his thumb over my jaw, tracing the shape of my lip, lifting my face toward him.
Then he slips that thumb into my mouth. Just barely.
I bite down.
He growls, yanking it back—then crashes his mouth into mine.
All that pent-up energy detonates. Broderick’s hands roam my body like he’ll die if he doesn’t touch me everywhere at once. Mine grip his shirt, his neck, his hair. We can’t get close enough.
When we finally break apart, his eyes stay on mine. The lights of the city reflect in them, like something celestial.
I’m falling for him.
The thought comes unbidden, unleashed from the depths of my heart.
“Happy New Year, El,” he whispers.
My heart swells. I open my mouth?—
About to say the words to fall into this moment with him, head first.
“Elena?”
That voice?—
Cool. Pained. Furious.
My head snaps toward the sound.
Alex.
Chapter 29
Linger
He’s there—standing at the end of the hallway, half-buried in shadow. Even in the dark, his jaw catches the light, clenched hard enough to crack. I already know that look. Atlanta all over again—hurt, angry, wanting.
Alex steps forward. His eyes flick between Broderick’s hands on my waist and my swollen, just-kissed lips.
“Didn’t realize the New Year came with its own floor show,” he says.
Broderick stills beneath my palms. Not tense—just alert, the way a bear goes quiet before it charges.
“What are you doing here?” My voice comes out higher than I mean. My heart kicks hard against the feelings I had earlier as it tangles with something else.
Guilt.
Just when I thought I was passed it, I’m dragged right back into it, splitting myself in two—caught between two opposing magnets.
“I’m here with friends,” Alex says, his eyes never leaving Broderick. “But clearly I missed the private entertainment portion of the evening.”
Broderick takes a protective step in front of me.
“Don’t do that, dude,” he says, voice low.
Alex lets out a bitter laugh. “What? Interrupt a moment? You’re good at that. Thought I’d return the favor.”
