Page 50 of Unmask (Crew of Elmwood Public #2)

The distance between us stretched like miles and inches all at once.

I took a step forward, then another. When I reached her, I lifted my hand slowly, giving her time to pull away, to tell me to back off, to remember all the reasons we were supposed to be enemies.

She didn’t move.

My knuckles brushed down the length of her arm, from shoulder to elbow, skin warm against skin. The contact sent electricity racing up my fingers, but I kept my touch light as air. “He’s not getting you back. I don’t care what it costs.”

The room went still around us. For the first time in weeks, we weren’t snapping at each other, and somewhere beneath the fragile peace, beneath the warmth of her skin under my fingers, I knew with bone-deep certainty that the storm wasn’t done with us yet. Not by a long shot.

The fact that I was touching her, and Kaylor hadn’t jerked away or told me to go to hell, didn’t go unnoticed. Especially not by the peanut gallery currently crowding the kitchen doorway.

“Well, well.” Mason’s voice cut through the moment. He propped one shoulder against the doorframe. “Did you two finally kiss and make up?”

“I don’t know about making up,” Maddox grumbled. “But they were definitely making out when I walked in.”

Kaylor’s cheeks flushed, but her chin lifted in defiance. “We weren’t—” She stopped, shook her head, and shot my brothers a steeling glare before flipping Maddox the bird. “Don’t you guys have somewhere else to be? Like literally anywhere else?”

The four of us just grinned.

Something was off.

I’d been watching Kaylor for three hours straight, and every instinct I’d honed over the years was screaming at me to pay attention.

She was being… nice . Every word that rolled off her tongue came with sugar on top instead of her usual sarcasm.

She smiled too often, but it couldn’t quite erase the sadness she tried to bury in her eyes.

If I didn’t know better, I’d say she was trying to distract us. Trying to distract me.

And the fact that it was working, that I kept catching myself staring at the curve of her lips when she laughed, only made me more unsure about what I was feeling.

She was up to something.

Hours later, when the afternoon light had shifted to deep gold and the house had settled into that pre-dinner lull, I cornered the three of them near the den. “Keep an eye on her,” I said, pitched low enough that my voice wouldn’t carry beyond our circle. “All of you.”

Maddox arched a dark brow. “You think she’s gonna make a run for it?”

“I think she’s lying or hiding something.” A liar recognized a liar, and I was skilled at lying.

Raine nodded. No protest, no questions.

Mason smirked. “Only you would be suspicious because a girl can’t keep her hands off you. Maybe she’s just tired of resisting Kreed Corvo’s irresistible charm.”

Raine and Maddox snorted.

I ignored him. Had to, or I’d end up doing something stupid.

I left to go check in on her while we waited for the call on Raine’s phone to come in and made my way down the hall. I was halfway past the library when slender fingers wrapped tightly around my wrist, pulling me sideways before I could react.

Kaylor.

She stood framed by the soft evening light filtering in through the slatted blinds. Golden rays cut across her face in horizontal stripes, turning her skin luminous. Her hair was wild, silver strands catching the light, but it was her eyes that held me, locked on mine with wicked intensity.

My head angled to the side. “What are you doing?” I asked, trying to sound firm, trying to inject some authority into my voice, but the words came out rougher than I’d intended, betraying the effect she was having on me.

She stepped forward, slow and intentional, her feet silent on the Persian rug, closing the distance between us by inches, until there was barely a breath of space left. Her gaze dropped to my mouth, lingering, before dragging back up to meet my eyes.

My hands itched to reach for her, to tangle in that wild hair and pull her against me, but I forced myself to stay still, to wait and see what game she was playing.

Because this was definitely a game, and I was starting to think I was already losing.

“Kaylor—”

Her name barely made it past my lips before she cut me off, her hands pressing onto my chest as she pushed me deeper against the wall. “You’ve been watching me all day.” I could see the flecks of light in her blue eyes, could count the freckles scattered across her nose.

“Because you’re up to something, little raven.”

The admission hung between us, raw and honest. Her pupils dilated slightly, and her tongue darted out to wet her bottom lip. “And if I told you”—she stepped into me, eliminating the last precious inches between us until her chest brushed against mine—“that you’re right? That I am up to something?”

The contact sent fire racing through my veins.

The soft cotton of her shirt rubbed against my chest, and I swallowed the growl rising in my throat, the sound vibrating deep in my chest. My hands twitched at my sides, fingers curling into fists as I fought the urge to either push her away from me or pin her against the wall.

“Then I’d tell you to start talking. Now. ”

She tilted her head, studying me with those knowing eyes. A slow smile crept across her lips. “What if I’m not ready to talk?”

“Then I’d ask what the hell this is,” I snapped, gesturing between us with a jerky motion that betrayed how rattled I was.

“This,” she whispered, rising on her toes so her lips were barely an inch from mine, “is just a girl locking herself in a room with a boy whom she no longer wants to pretend she doesn’t want.

” Her fingers found the front of my shirt, fisting the fabric as she watched the array of emotions move into my features.

On one hand, I was desperate to believe her, but another part of me warned that this could be a trap. I’d waited for this moment, waited for her to admit she felt something for me, so long that I couldn’t trust it…trust her…trust myself.

Fuck yeah, I had trust issues, but with Kaylor, I wanted to try. I wanted this to be so real it fucking hurt.

The air between us crackled with a dangerous tension that made smart people do stupid things. I leaned down, my breath stirring the wild strands of her hair. The scent of her shampoo filled my nostrils, making my head spin. “Whatever you’re planning, little raven. I will find out. And when I do?—”

There was no mistaking the way her breath hitched. “You’ll what?” Her eyes darkened, but there was a challenge there too. “Punish me?”

Jesus. She is trying to kill me.

My hands moved without conscious thought, wrapping around her wrists. I peeled her fingers away from my shirt, holding her hands captive between us. Her pulse hammered against my thumbs where they pressed against her skin.

Her expression wavered between excitement and disappointment, but the look was there and gone so quickly I might have imagined it, but I caught it regardless.

I held her gaze, refusing to let her look away. “I don’t want to hurt you. But don’t test how far I’ll go if you’re putting yourself in danger.”

For a moment, vulnerability flashed in her eyes.

Then her lips curved in a smile again, promising trouble delivered in spades.

“It just so happens I’m really good at tests,” she said, her voice carrying that same husky quality that made my knees weak.

“Don’t question everything,” she whispered.

“For an hour, I just want to pretend like my life isn’t in shambles.

I’m not asking you to be my boyfriend.” Her fingers traced the edge of my collar, the light touch sending sparks across my skin.

“You want me. I want you. Can’t it be that simple? ”

I shook my head. “Nothing about you and me can be simple.”

“Kreed,” she said breathily.

My name, so soft and desperate and full of need, made something primal unfurl in my chest. I closed my eyes for a heartbeat, fighting for control I was rapidly losing. “That’s unfair, little raven, and you know it.”

Her lips curved in a smile. “Looks like I picked up a few things from living with the Raven Crew after all.”

“Not funny.”

“Kreed,” she said again, her fingers tangling into my hair. “Stop stalling and fucking kiss me before someone comes looking for us.”

My fingers settled on her hips. “You sure about this?” I asked, studying her face for any sign of doubt, any speck of uncertainty. “Because once I cross this line, there will be no going back. Not for either of us.”

She nodded. “Yes.” Her free hand came up to rest against my chest, right over my heart, and I wondered if she could feel how it was racing. “I don’t want to think about what you’ve done. Or what I’ve lost. Or what’s waiting for me tomorrow. I want this. I want you .”

Something in my chest cracked open.

I didn’t rush. I didn’t throw her against the bookshelves even if every nerve in my body screamed for her. I leaned in slowly, brushing my knuckles along her jaw as I tipped her chin up. Her breath caught as I kissed her.

Soft at first, her lips molded to mine with a tremble, fucking unraveling me.

I pulled her in, one hand tangled in her hair, the other gripping her waist like she might vanish if I let go.

She pressed into me, sighing into the kiss like it was the first time she’d exhaled all day.

She pulled me in again. This time, the kiss was heavier.

Fiercer. Full of need that left no room for lies.

I spent a lot of time thinking about kissing her, about what I would do when I got the chance to touch her again, to be with her. I stopped trying to figure out what it was I liked about kissing Kaylor more than any other girl. I gave up trying to figure out what made her special. She just was.

My hands skimmed down her curves with deliberate leisure because I wanted to draw this out for as long as possible, savor every lick, touch, kiss, tremor, and moan.

But I was still a guy, and it didn’t take long for my craving to overcome reasoning.

I longed to feel every inch of her nakedness pressing into me.

“I think I noticed something on your shirt,” she murmured against my mouth, her fingers drifting to the hem of my tee.

“Oh yeah?”

Her head angled to the side as she took my bottom lip between her teeth. “It’s got to go.”

“You’re the boss.”

“Careful. I might like having control over you.” She tugged at my shirt, and I helped her lift it over my head. Her gaze captured mine, and with a twist of her lips, she lifted her arms in the air. “My turn.”

“With pleasure.” I rid her of her shirt, tossing it to the side.

She melted into me as my lips reclaimed hers, and I lifted her easily, her legs wrapping around my waist. I carried her to the reading chaise, half shrouded in shadows, the moonlight filtering through the tall windows painted silver across her skin, and I swore I’d never seen anything so heartbreakingly beautiful.

Pushing up, my fingers made quick work of the button and zipper on her jeans, shimmying them over her hips and down her legs. Her silky, white panties were next to go, leaving her bare for my feasting. And I was fucking starved for her.

There was no resistance when my fingers stroked her clit, warmth and wetness making it effortless to slip inside her. One finger. Then two.

Her back bowed off the oversized chaise, lifting her perky breasts closer to my face, and fuck, if I would die a happy man in this moment.

“Jesus, you’re hotter than I remember,” I rasped, the words slipping out like a confession I couldn’t take back.

She cocked an eyebrow, strands of her silver hair framing her gorgeous face. “Is that so?” That smirk told me she knew I was so damn lost in her. Giving her pleasure only amplified mine…so perhaps we were lost in each other.

I bent lower, teeth grazing her nipple before my mouth closed over it, my tongue circling slowly. Her nails dug into my shoulder. “I can’t seem to get enough of you,” I murmured against her skin.

“Good,” she said, dragging her nails down the length of my chest, leaving faint trails of heat in their wake. “I want you addicted.”

My gaze locked on hers, heat and passion tangled in the same breath.

“Careful what you wish for, little raven.” I pressed my mouth to the scar on her shoulder, the one that still made my heart tighten every time I saw it.

A bullet had pierced her there, so close to ending everything.

If she’d moved a step the wrong way, or if the shooter’s aim had been off by a fraction, she wouldn’t be here at all.

My life without her was a hollow, colorless thing I didn’t even want to picture.

She reached between our bodies, wrapping her fingers around my dick. “I want you inside me. Now.”

I didn’t think I could get harder. She proved me wrong as the pad of her thumb grazed the slick tip of my cock. A deep groan vibrated in my throat. “God forbid, I deny you anything.”

She guided that throbbing part of my manhood to the opening of her core, and I gave her what she asked for, my hips thrusting once.

It was all it took for me to be buried deep within her.

The sound that left her, low, throaty, was enough to make my control snap, her body tightening around me, and I set a rhythm that was part claim, part punishment.

Kaylor clung to me, nails in my back, urging me to move harder.

My forehead dropped to hers, my breath ragged as I ground out, “You have no idea what you do to me.”

Her lips brushed mine, a ghost of a kiss, her smirk still there even in the chaos. “Then show me.”

And I did, driving into her with every ounce of want, tenderness, and devotion I had left in me until there was nothing else in the room, nothing else in the world, but her. No games. No lies. No past. The rest of the world fell away.