Page 43 of Should Our Stars Collide

“Like what?”

“Like this!” He angrily points at his mouth, which only draws Ash’s attention back to it.

“I see nothing wrong with them,” Ash says, dragging his gaze up to meet Kieran’s. “Whoever gets to kiss them will be very lucky.”

Struck speechless and gaping like a fish, Kieran’s first instinct is to roll onto his other side, his heart hammering like crazy. The urge to hide, from the whole world but especially Ash, is strong, so he does the first thing that comes to mind and pulls the covers over his head.

Ash’s laugh echoes throughout the room, bathing Kieran in astrange warmth.

He feels slight pressure against his back, buffered by the covers, but it sends a shiver through him anyway. It takes all he has not to lean into it, his touch-starved body instinctively responding to the contact.

“Are you gonna be okay? Are you feeling sick?”

“I’m fine.” It comes out steadier than Kieran expected, considering it’s a freaking lie. “You don’t have to hover.”

There’s a long pause. “I can stay until you fall asleep, if you want.”

There are a thousand ways Kieran could reply.Shouldreply.

‘Why would I want that? You’re a creep.’

‘So you can do weird shit to me in my sleep?’

‘Just leave me alone already.’

But he can’t bring himself to. As much as Ash’s presence irritates him, the idea of him walking out and leaving Kieran alone after he’d spent the night mentallyandemotionally picking him apart feels scary as hell.

Thankful that Ash can’t see his undoubtedly tomato-red face, Kieran replies, “Do whatever you want.”

“In that case…”

The mattress shakes with movement, and Kieran’s stomach lurches when it seems Ash is actually leaving. Except he never gets out of bed, so Kieran pokes out his head to check what’s happening.

He finds Ash propped up against the headboard, legs crossed at the ankles and hands interlaced and resting in his lap.Talk about making yourself at home.

Smiling down at him, Ash answers the unspoken question. “You said I could do whatever I wanted.”

Face heating up to about 200°C, Kieran quickly slides under the covers again, squeezing his eyes shut. To his relief, he can feel sleep pulling him under almost instantly. Good. He can’t wait for today to be over.

“Sweet dreams, Kieran.”

Kieran couldn’t care less about sweet dreams. All he wants is to wake up and feel like himself again. No annoying, perverted therapistsor weird, confusing feelings that make him question his whole reality.

Here goes to hoping that when he wakes up tomorrow, hungover as hell, everything will be back to normal and he’ll never cross paths with Ash Cleaver again.

He drifts off, dreams filled with an irritating, smiling face, and warmth that feels like home.

10

The first thing Kieran notices as he slowly comes to, aside from the sunbeam falling directly across his eyes, is the absence of a headache. Huh, maybe he’s finally building up a tolerance after all these years. About damn time.

The second thing is how fucking hot it is, hot enough it makes it hard to breathe. Strange, because his apartment usually stays nice and cool, even in the midst of the hellish Queensland summers.

The third—and by far the most disturbing—thing is that he’s not alone, if the subtle snoring from behind him is any indication. It’s disturbing not only because it’s been a long time since he woke up next to somebody, but because the events of last night are painfully vivid in his memory.Whohe’d been with is painfully vivid, so he can’t even pretend to be confused about who’s in bed with him right now.

As if that isn’t disturbing enough, the snoring stops. Instead, the person in question lets out a low, satisfied sound, before plastering himself flat against Kieran’s back, not a millimeter of space between them. Explains why it feels like a hundred degrees in here.

What it doesn’t explain is why Kieran isn’t fucking moving. He’s in bed with another person. Not justaperson, but withAsh. Who clearly thinks Kieran is his emotional support pillow with the way he’s wrapped around him. So close that Kieran can feel Ash’s breath on his neck, feel his heartbeat against his back, his dick against?—