Page 17 of Slick & Spooky
I click the door shut behind me like I’m not sealing myself in with a loaded weapon.
The air inside the room shifts the second the latch catches. It’s hot, humming with tension, thick enough to taste. My body’s already wound tight, but I haven’t figured out how I want to play this yet.
Am I walking into his hands… or is he already in mine?
Is he in control because I let him be or because he always has been?
Knox doesn’t move from the chair and from his searing gaze I know he’s already dissected me and found the softest point to press.
“You’ve ignored me all semester,” I say, my voice steadier than I feel.
“Being around you is a risk,” he answers.
“You didn’t have this much restraint over summer,” I shoot back.
“I think we remember it differently.”
I tilt my head, feigning nonchalance. “I remember it exactly. You locked on to me the second I walked in.”
A low hum slips from him, and his mouth twists into a dark smile. Something that promises trouble. He rises from the chair unhurried.
“If I had restraint, you’d still be untouched.”
He crosses the room and stops as we both feel the invisible thread pulled tight between us
“Tonight,” he murmurs. “You were a fucking tease.”
“No,” I snap, too fast. “I had your attention.”
His eyes bore into me. “You had everyone’s.”
He takes his time, gaze trailing down like he’s remembering the shape of me under his hands.
“You’re a black hole,” he says. “Dragging everything toward you to see what survives.”
My breath catches. Part of me wants to argue. The other part wants to pull him in and watch him fall apart. His hands hover near my hips, fingers twitching. Every inch between us feels like a dare.
“You knew how to hook me,” he replies.
It knocks the air from my lungs. I see it hit him too. The flash of fireworks, the sweat on my skin, the way we moved like we already knew each other. His pupils blow wide as he sinks into the memory.
“I liked you soft. You looked good like that.”
He leans in, nose brushing mine. My knees nearly buckle.
“It’s why I was gentle,” he murmurs. “Thought I’d break you.”
“I’m not fragile,” I say, voice catching in my throat.
His smile flickers. “I know that now.”
I could back off and give him the distance he keeps asking for, but I’m done shrinking. Done sanding myself down into something easier to hold.
“Okay then…” I whisper, lips brushing his. “Break me.”
He studies me looking for the cracks, but we both know he won’t find any.
“Couldn’t if I tried.”