Page 84 of Should Our Stars Collide

“It’s because…”

“Because?”

“You’re a man.” Kieran blurts out the first thing that comes to mind.

Ash has the nerve to roll his eyes. “How original.”

“It’s a legit reason!”

“I watched you salivate over Jake Gyllenhaal inRoad House. You don’t get to make that excuse.”

“There’s a remake ofRoad House?! With Jake?!”

Ash isn’t amused. “You better come up with a different reason.”

“It’s still a legit reason. Jake is Jake. I get to have one free gay pass, everyone deserves one!”

“You have way too many passes to call yourself straight.”

Kieran crosses his arms. “Not true.”

“Uh-huh.” Ash starts counting on his fingers. “Jake, Chris Evans, Henry Cavill?—”

“Henry doesn’t count! He's oneverybody’slist.”

Another eyeroll. “Okay, fine.” Then Ash mumbles, “Not my type, but whatever.”

“Not your type.” Kieran scoffs. “You like them scrawny and ugly, huh?”

He realizes his mistake too late.

Ash is on him in a heartbeat. He straddles Kieran’s legs, immobilizing him.

“Hey! What do you think y?—”

One of his hands lands next to Kieran’s head, the other slides into his hair and tugs, not painfully but firmly, until he has no choice but to look straight at Ash.

“I’ve warned you about the consequences of badmouthing yourself.” Ash’s voice is dangerously low.

Kieran’s life flashes in front of his eyes, as does Ash’s warning.

“Y-you can’t do that!” he stutters, face growing hot at the appalling thought of getting spanked like a misbehaving child.

Ash’s grin is outright predatory, making Kieran feel like a mouse about to be devoured by an eagle. “Can’t I?”

Kieran fumbles for a retort. “You can’t because I don’t consent. You hear me? I do not consent!”

He squeezes his eyes shut, fisting the sheets.

The difference between them is impossible to ignore—Ash is taller by what feels like a whole foot, heavier by a solid thirty kilos, and not even slightly out of breath. He’s got Kieran pinned like it’s nothing. Like holding him there doesn’t require effort.

It hits him all at once—how easily Ash could overpower him, how little control he actually has right now. His heart slams against his ribcage like a jackhammer, and a weird, almost ticklish sensation coils low in his stomach. His skin feels like it’s burning, heat rising so fast he’s sure it’s going to peel him apart from the inside out. He begins to shake?—

Wait, that’s not him.

His eyelids spring open. “Are you laughing at me?” he says incredulously, watching Ash tremble from the effort not to. He doesn’t look angry anymore, or like he’s about to eat Kieran alive. His face is bright with mirth, and affection that has no place here.

He lets go of Kieran’s hair, leaving him strangely bereft, then strokes the same hand down his face, thumb brushing over his cheek.