Page 61 of The Catch

"Always."

"What about what you want?"

"I think it's clear what I want, Ames."

She knows how this is affecting me. I squeeze her lush form to me, filling my arms and my hands with her body. So generous, so giving, so tempting.

I'm transparent. If she wants to look, she'll see my chest has turned to glass, and my heart beating fast is the only organ keeping me alive. My cock? It's killing me, because it's still bound to feeling her weight, her movements, her warmth. My cock and I are not allowed to do more.

If she wants to look, she'll figure out how gone I am for her. It must be written all over my face, too.

I lick my lips. My heart could explode, and I can only take deep shallow breaths in anticipation.

She nods and tips her head back. I dip my head to the crook of her neck. My mouth parts… only to close in a lazy kiss on her warm skin.

I frown in abject focus. She shivers in my arms. I take a deep breath and open my mouth again. My lungs are full of her perfume now, and I swear I can feel her heartbeat against my lips. Should I nip? Lick a path up to her jaw? I don't make a decision— my lips close on her again, the tip of my tongue connecting with her skin—

"Guys." Evie elbowsme.

Her voice shocks me out of my dazed state. It takes an inhumane amount of effort to glance at my friend. For a moment, she even looks blurry to me.

She points to the space in front of Ames and I.

Aidan stands a couple steps away from us, staring.

"Hi, Ames." Aidan digs his hands into his pockets.

"Hey." She surrounds my shoulders with an arm. "Didn't think I'd see you here tonight… or ever, really."

The glass over my chest— it cracks.

For a moment, I forgot this is for show. To provoke Ames' ex. That I have a part to play in this charade.

I muster a smile. "Hello, Aidan. Are you having a nice evening so far?"

Internally, I'm barely back to my senses. I gather whatever I can and use it for a stint.

He frowns. "I see things have… evolved."

"Yeah?" I say. "What gives you that impression?"

Ames laughs. It feels like a gift, so I thank her with a kiss on the cheek.

She doesn't react to my kiss, but stares up at her ex. "Maybe things have changed, maybe they haven't. I don't see how that's any of your business, Aidan."

"So if I go out there and date other people—" his Irish accent comes out stronger, the more he talks. "If I go down there and dance with someone else… it's not a big deal?"

"It's not a bigger deal than you cheating on me," she replies.

"Atta, girl." I grin and accommodate her on my lap, making a show of it.

Disdain takes over the line of the musician's mouth.

"I don't recognize this side of you," Aidan says.

She shrugs. "I don't remember asking for your opinion."

"What we have—" he tries.