Page 39 of Briar

Several more tears fall. I keep my movements slow, raising my hand in a silent request for permission. When she nods, I carefully run my thumb under her eyes, wiping the tears away before I sit back, giving her time to compose herself.

“Can I touch you?”

The hesitant request has my head snapping around to hers.Any time.

Briar nods. Before I can take a breath, she shifts forward.

And her lips press against mine.

My inhale is sharp. Her kiss is feather-light, as soft as the rest of her. Unsure, almost. As if she’s as uncertain at this moment as I am.

I have never been kissed. Never kissed anyone.

But it feels natural to slide my hand up to cup Briar’s cheek, to tilt her face beneath mine and press back. She’s a perfect fit beneath my touch, her lips a seamless shape against mine.

And the small noise she makes… I think I’d do anything to hear that noise again.

When we break apart, both of us are breathing heavily.

Flushed, she clears her throat.Thank you.For… helping.

My eyes are still wide.If that’s my reward, I’ll help with whatever you want. Anything. Name it.

Her smile is shaky, but genuine. “I’m ready to go. If you are.”

To Ravenhall.

I’m taking her home.

And fuck, if I don’t like the sound of that.

River

“Stop it.”

Jenson pauses in his pacing to glower in my direction.

I wave a knife at him before sliding it into place on the table. Trying to at least give the impression of a civilised house. “Don’t give me that look. You’re making my head swim watching you stomp back and forth.”

But I know how he feels. The same unease swirls in my stomach, the clock ticking on with no sign of Kai or Briar. “She’ll be here.”

I wish I believed my own optimism. Jenson clearly doesn’t believe it either, carrying on with his stalking up and down the dining room. “Maybe we missed something.”

“We didn’t miss a thing.” At least, he didn’t, that razor-sharp focus coming in handy over the past few weeks. “You’ve been over everything, Jens. There’s nothing else you could have done.If she decides this isn’t for her, it’s not because you missed a step.”

And this is the final one. After tonight, there’s no going back. We’ll have been inside her, tasted her, even if she decides she doesn’t want to see us again.

Fuck, I hope that’s not the case.

What started as something new, something fresh and a little taboo to explore for me now feels like something I never knew I needed.

I needher. Need her the way I’ve been dreaming about. Briar has infiltrated my sleep, my waking hours, every fucking thought, it feels like. “She’s coming.”

Both of our heads shoot up at the telltale ding of the front gate. Jenson swivels in place, looking so undone in that moment that I hold my hands up. “Fucking hell. Jenson. Breathe.”

But my own oxygen sticks in my lungs, refusing to move.

She’s here.