Page 49

“Nothing.” Tori’s heart raced. What the hell had Siena said? Also, that explained how Miranda had known she was home alone. “What did she say?”

“She told me to call you.” Miranda’s hands clenched into fists at her sides. “She told me she knows something happened, but the girls were right there, and I didn’t get the sense she wanted to talk about it in front of them. What did you tell her?”

Tori sucked her lips between her teeth, deciding to get to the center of the issue. She was done pussyfooting around. “Why are we even having this discussion?”

“What?” Miranda’s word had a bite to it.

“Why are we talking about this? There’s nothing going on between us, is there?” She knew it was a ploy to get Miranda to react, but she had to know what was going on behind her well-honed resting bitch face.

Miranda took a step backward, putting space between them as if she was taken aback. Now was Tori’s chance to tell her to back up and leave. This was the moment when she slammed the door in Miranda’s face and told her she never wanted to see her again. But looking into her honeyed eyes, she couldn’t. Because Tori wanted every part of Miranda. She wanted to peel back those layers and find out what was behind all the curtains that she put up to hide behind.

Tori pressed her lips together when Miranda took another backward step in retreat. “Miranda, what are you doing?”

“Talking.” She sounded so damn calm all of a sudden. So in control.

When had they flipped roles? Tori’s heart was in her throat, her entire body humming with arousal from that one damn look in Miranda’s gaze. “Talking about what?”

“You betrayed me.”

Tori flinched. “I broke your trust.”

That was everything this was about, wasn’t it? Miranda wouldn’t have cared if she’d said no, or told her not to come over, or said she couldn’t help. What Miranda cared about was the bond they had been building had not only been halted but snapped tenuously in two. And to add insult to injury, she thought Tori was spreading gossip about what they had done. For a woman who never shared anything, that was the straw that would break the camel’s back.

Melting, Tori stepped out of her apartment and reached for Miranda, who had drawn closer. She said her name on a sigh, “Oh, Miranda. I’m so sorry. I didn’t tell Siena anything, I promise. But she’s not blind. I’m so sorry I hurt you.”

“Don’t do it again.” Miranda stood right in front of her, water dripping off her clothes and down her face as the rain pelted both of them. Tori’s shoulders were already soaked, her nipples hardening from the cold. Miranda took one step, coming into Tori’s space, suddenly no longer on the defensive but the offensive.

Tori caught the drop of Miranda’s gaze to her lips a second before their mouths connected in a brutal kiss. This was nothing like what the other night had been. It was all fire and heat, passion and anger. Miranda was on her, pushing her against the railing on the balcony, hands and fingers everywhere. Rain continued to pelt down on them, drenching them in its sorrow.

Groaning, Tori threaded her fingers into Miranda’s wet hair and pulled sharply. “Miranda.”

“Tell me to stop if you want me to stop,” Miranda rushed the words before moving back in for another kiss.

Tori melted. She didn’t want this to end. She had wanted this to happen again the moment it had finished the first time. Wrapping her arms around Miranda’s middle, she pulled Miranda into her. Water soaked into Tori’s thin shirt and shorts, chilling her legs and arms, but she didn’t care. She had wanted this just as much as Miranda had.

They were soaked through, but Tori didn’t want to move. The cold air was the strong reminder that she needed. She’d hurt Miranda, and this woman was just as fragile as the next. Tori needed to take better care next time. She needed to be a better person. Because Miranda demanded it. Tori slid her hands up Miranda’s back, realizing just how wet her clothes really were. How long had she stood out in the rain before knocking?

“Don’t lie to me again.” This time it sounded like a plea. Miranda dropped her mouth to Tori’s neck, licking the droplets of rain as they trickled down Tori’s body.

“Never,” Tori murmured before tangling their tongues together. She had her hands under Miranda’s blazer in a second, pushing it off her shoulders as she spun them around and walked them into the open apartment door. “We need to get you warm.”

Miranda snorted, but the tension that she’d shown up with was gone. She pressed Tori into the entryway wall, their mouths still playing against each other. It was so damn hard to get the buttons on her blouse undone with her shirt soaked through. Frustrated, Tori leaned her shoulders against the wall, trying to pull a button. Miranda shoved Tori’s hands away and did it herself.

Tori pulled her own shirt off in the meantime. As soon as Miranda was done and out of her shoes, Tori brought their mouths together again. She didn’t want this slow like the first time. She wanted to get Miranda underneath her, against her, anything. Pushing Miranda backward toward her bedroom, Tori took the lead. She needed to make up for the trust she had broken, and she would do everything in her power to right that wrong.

Her fingers played at Miranda’s slacks, needing to get the wet clothes off her entirely. Her skin was so cold to touch, a pale color with goosebumps running all over her arms and chest and stomach. She had Miranda on the bed and dragged her pants off. She was finally naked, her hair sticking to her chest as she gasped in deep breaths.

“What do you want?” Tori asked, remembering just how sexy that had been last time.

Miranda shook her head sharply and closed her eyes. “Just fast, dirty, and hard. Anything to get me off.”

Tori shoved her shorts off and climbed onto the bed, settling her thigh in between Miranda’s legs. “Not slow?”

“Fuck no,” she said on a laugh.

Miranda gripped Tori’s arms tightly before sliding her hand between them. She flicked her fingers between Tori’s legs, finding her clit and rubbing. Groaning, Tori pressed her head down into Miranda’s shoulder.

“God damn, you’re freezing.”