Page 67 of In Doubt

Giorgie laughs and I yank her along, the two of us stumbling more than once as the ground sucks at our shoes.

By the time we make it to the peak of the dune, we’re both breathless and panting.

Giorgie pulls her hand from mine and strides along the rim of the peak, throwing back her head to stare up at the heavens.

The stars are even brighter here and she looks celestial framed against the glittering sky, her hair dancing around her face, being carried by the light breeze that ruffles the surface of the sand.

“Come here,” I tell her, my voice gruff.

Her eyes don’t leave the stars. “What are we doing here, Jake?”

“I’m hoping you’re going to let me kiss you again, Omega.”

“And then what?”

I growl, letting her know exactly what I’m hoping will come next.

“This is crazy,” she says, finally dropping her gaze to mine. “We don’t even like each other.”

“I like it when you kiss me, Omega. I like it when you make those sweet mewling noises. I like it when your body is hot against mine.”

She draws in a breath.

“Shit,” she mumbles and I know she can’t resist this anymore than I can. It’s been building for too long. I take a pace towards her.

“It’s not like this can mean anything, though can it? There’s only one spot on the research team and…”

“Let’s not think about that now,” I tell her.

The thought of it makes my stomach hurt. Only one of us can claim that spot. It suddenly seems like a bittersweet pill to swallow. If I win it, Giorgie will be leaving Crestmore. And if she wins, I’ll be leaving. Either way we can’t be together.

I take another pace and another, and she watches me come closer, her shoulders falling and rising with anticipation.

“You know I’m going to beat you to that place,” she says with a hint of a smile, as I curl my arm around her waist and draw her closer.

I chuckle.

“We’ll see about that,” I say, reaching down to pinch that delectable arse of hers.

“You’re so sure of yourself.”

“And so are you.”

A car horn blasts through the night, and somehow I’m not even surprised.

“I think that’s our cue to leave,” she says, wriggling free of my grasp.

“I’m paying the dude a lot of money. He can wait.”

“You’re paying him. So what, that means you can click your fingers and he and everyone around you has to do as you say?” She frowns at me.

I frown right back.

“Did I say that? You have a really special way of twisting my words into something unrecognisable.”

“He probably has a family he needs to get home to. It’s late, Jake.”

She trudges away from me, leaving deep footsteps in the shifting sand.