Page 26 of From the Wreckage

Everett

I’ve been pacing the length of my cabin for twenty minutes, fighting the urge to grab my keys and drive across the damn lake to her door.

One hour. I can wait that long... right?

I run a hand through my hair, restless, then change her name in my contacts to Angel . It’s the only thing that feels true.

My phone buzzes. My chest tightens when I see her name.

Angel: Change of plans. Meet me at the dock... now.

Christ. She’s going to ruin me.

I don’t think, I move. Before I know it, my boots pound the trail, gravel spitting under each step, my lungs burning with the same fire tearing through my veins. I don’t slow until I see her.

She’s perched at the edge of the dock, moonlight spilling across her bare legs, tank top clinging to every curve, hair falling in loose waves down her back. The lake gleams like silver glass behind her, but she outshines it all. My angel.

Her smile is soft and knowing, like she can feel how close I am to coming undone. “Hello, again.”

“Angel.” My voice is low, rough. “You have no idea how hard I was holding back tonight.”

I drop beside her, cup her face, and kiss her.

At first, it’s soft, reverent—just a taste of the sweetness I’ve been craving.

But the second her fingers fist in my shirt, I’m gone.

The kiss turns fierce and desperate. She parts for me, and I sweep inside, my tongue stroking hers, swallowing her whimpers like oxygen.

I drag her onto my lap, her thighs bracketing me, heat radiating from her body. A guttural sound tears from my chest as my hands grip her hips, pulling her flush against me.

She gasps, rocking against me, clutching my shoulders like she needs me to anchor her. And I nearly lose it right there.

“Everett,” she breathes, breaking the kiss just long enough to tremble against me. “I can’t stay away from you.”

My thumb traces her jaw, my voice ragged. “I can’t stay away from you, either. You’re mine , angel. Not his.”

Her hazel eyes burn, lips parting as she whispers the words that detonate the last of my control. “I’m yours.”

My restraint shatters.

My hands slide up her sides, memorizing every curve through the thin cotton of her tank, then back down to grip her ass, pulling her tighter against me. She whimpers into my mouth, nails scraping my neck, her body pressing closer like she wants to crawl inside my skin.

“Angel,” I rasp, pressing my forehead to hers, my breath ragged. “You’re killing me.”

Her answer is a whisper between frantic kisses. “Then die for me.”

Fuck.

I devour her, kissing her like the world is ending. Her hips grind against mine while my hands roam up beneath her shirt, desperate for every inch of her. Her gasp turns into a moan when my mouth trails down her throat, tasting her skin.

“Jesus,” I mutter against her pulse, sucking lightly, my hands spanning the hot, bare skin of her waist. She arches into me, trembling, thighs clamping tighter around me.

We’re fire and gasoline, burning too hot, too fast. One spark away from an inferno I won’t be able to stop.

She yanks my mouth back to hers, reckless and hungry. I grip her waist to hold her steady, even as my own control frays to nothing.

When she finally breaks for air, her lips swollen, chest heaving against mine, she whispers the truth that undoes me completely. “Everett… I’ve never felt like this before.”

“Neither have I,” I rasp, brushing her hair back, forcing myself to slow down. Because if I don’t, I’ll take her right here on the dock, under the stars.

And she deserves more than me losing control outdoors, where we could be caught by her father.