Page 30 of Die for You

My mind scrambles to keep up before I follow her lead. “No problem, beautiful. You’re always worth the wait.”

Before I can predict what she’s got up her sleeve next, Aurora grabs my face. My heart leaps into my throat, the honey scent of her lotion wrapping around me. Her hands are so soft, tender as she cradles my jaw.

Without a word of warning, she pulls me down to her and her mouth meets mine, her lips cold from the cool night air and impossibly sweet.

I freeze for a split second before I tug her closer, her torso colliding with my erection as I slip my hands around her, engulfed in her honey scent.

Her body is tight and warm in my arms, her tongue minty and delicious as I slide mine into her mouth. She lets out a breathless gasp that makes my cock twitch, and I groan, pulling her as close as I can get her. Never close enough.

This isn’t part of the act anymore—every second of this is real.

Fuck. This is what I’ve been aching for. Dying for. Aurora in my arms, her lips on mine, her taste coating my tongue. I need more.More, more, more?—

When a throat clears behind us, we’re both jerked out of our trance. Way too fucking soon. I forgot Monica was here.

Aurora has a way of making me forget the entire world.

“Oh!” Aurora turns to Monica like she’s just noticing her for the first time. “Hi! I’m Aurora, Knox’s girlfriend.”

Knox’s girlfriend. Damn, that has a nice ring to it.

Two car doors slam, followed by heavy footsteps. Damien and Finn witnessed this whole show. Their jealousy is palpable from here. Maybe the kiss wasn’t real to Aurora, but it was real to me. Real to them too.

Monica’s eyes narrow on Rory like she’s venomous. “Oh. Hey. I’m Monica.”

“Monica?” Aurora’s brows pull together in the most exaggerated, quizzical expression. “Sorry, I’m terrible with names. Do you have a class together?”

This girl is a damn genius. Where’s a fucking ring when you need it? I’ll kneel right now.

“No. I’m Knoxy’s high school sweetheart, actually,” Monica purrs, batting her fake lashes like she expects this to trigger Aurora’s jealousy. My hands curl into fists that she’s speaking about me in the present tense, like we’re still anything to each other. She hasn’t been anything to me since we graduated. “We dated for years.”

“Oh! You’rethatMonica. I remember now.” Aurora’s voice drips with poisoned honey. She slips her arm through mine, and the faux-friendly smile shifts to a villainous one. Finn and Damien are close enough to overhear us now. “The Monica who treated Knox like shit, and after he dumped you, you couldn’t stand the thought of him being happy, so you crash parties on his college campus and track him down for a crumb of his attention, even though you broke up years ago.ThatMonica?”

Silence lands between us like a rock as the Devils’ steps come to a halt. I bite my lip to keep from cheering or egging her on.

A flush creeps up to Monica’s cheekbones, her lips flattened. She’s about to burst.

Rory steps in front of me, her arms folded. “How about now you become the Monica who fucks off? Stop following him. Leave him the fuck alone. You treated him like shit, and you’re not entitled to any piece of him anymore. So you need to accept that he’s moved on and get the fuck over it. And maybe you should learn how to treat your partners the way they deserve while you’re at it.”

Monica glares at Aurora like she’s imagining ripping her hair out, but she keeps her hands to herself. Smart.

Her gaze slides to me. “You really know how to downgrade, huh, Knox?”

I’m Knoxy when she wants something, and Knox when she’s pissed.

With that, she spins on her heel and marches to her car.

“He said I give him the sloppiest head he’s ever gotten in his life!” Aurora shouts. “Nice meeting you!”

Behind us, Damien and Finn lose it. I can’t help but laugh now too, shoulders shaking with both amusement and relief as Monica’s tires chirp and she speeds off, disappearing into the creeping darkness.

I tug Aurora close to me by the hip, the fabric of that black dress so thin and flimsy, it would be easy to tear through. So easy. “That was impressive.”

“Hell yeah, it was.” Damien’s dark gaze roams over her from head to toe. “Where the hell did that outfit come from?”

“I forgot to dress up for a recital once.” Her mouth puckers into a grimace at the memory. “I vowed I’d never let that happen again, so now I keep an emergency outfit in my bag.”

I can’t stop grinning. No one’s ever defended me like that, let alone to Monica. We both had plenty of friends in high school, but a lot of them sided with her after the breakup, even when they witnessed her hit me at parties and berate me in the lunchroom in front of everyone.