Page 32 of Unwritten Rules (The Sunburnt Hearts #1)

“They’re okay.” He shrugs. “Nothing to write home about.”

I fight the urge to groan. “Sinnett, come on. The lyrics are beautiful. And so heartfelt.”

Again, Sinnett shrugs. “I guess so. But I still don’t feel a connection to it.”

“Well, maybe that’s because you need to find a personal experience of your own that closely relates to the lyrics.”

He hums in response as the closing notes simmer out. “How do I know the right experience to use?”

“You don’t,” I answer, scrolling through songs to pick another one. “You just… feel it. Embrace it. If that makes sense?”

Before Sinnett can respond, my finger skims over a song I had no intention of choosing. My cheeks flame when I register the title of the song, and my current situation with a man I have an intimate history with.

“Oh, shit, sorry,” I rush out as I try to find a different song to replace Ed Sheeran’s “Kiss Me”. “I wasn’t supposed to pick that one?—”

“Let it play,” Sinnett interjects, eyes lowering to meet mine. “I haven’t heard this one before.”

“Y-yeah, but?—”

“Tate, please.” He chuckles, ignoring the panic seeping into my features. “Just relax.”

God, I wish that were possible.

With hot cheeks and my sense of pride seeping away, I slip my phone into my pocket and allow myself to listen to the lyrics despite my racing heart thumping in my chest. Sinnett’s arm brushes mine again.

He wasn’t kidding when he said the walk would keep him warm—I can feel the heat of his skin through the leather.

Sinnett pulls out his phone, scrolling and walking in silence.

I try to catch a glimpse of what he’s doing, because I’m a snoopy person at heart, but every time I look away from my feet, the thought of stumbling and ripping the ear bud out of his ear is too embarrassing, so I leave him to his scrolling.

Turning onto my street, with my father’s house in sight, Sinnett slips his phone back into his pocket.

I find myself wishing the walk had been longer.

Listening to music with Sinnett brings a wave of calmness I have needed since arriving in Sydney.

It reminds me of being home in Barrenridge and hanging out with Noah and Nathan.

Music has always been a comfort of mine.

Mum used to play P!nk every Saturday morning when she would clean the house, and I would end up dancing with her in the kitchen instead of doing chores.

It was something that brought us closer, our shared love for the same genre and songs binding us tight.

Now, when I hear the opening notes to “Who Knew”, I have to fight the urge not to cry because it was one of Mum’s favourite songs.

As we reach the driveway to my house, a sheet of rain drenches us.

My eyes widen as I stare up at Sinnett, his head dipped low, watching me with intense eyes.

The song continues to play in our ears, blocking out the sudden rain shower.

I really should’ve checked the forecast before leaving the house.

“Shit,” I mutter, holding my arms above my head as if they’ll stop the rain from seeping into every inch of my body. “I better get inside. Here, take your jacket.”

“Wait,” Sinnett rasps, holding his hand up.

I drop my arms to my side, no longer caring about the rain.

How could I when Sinnett is looking at me like that?

Ocean eyes hold mine hostage, and I fight the urge to shudder when his hand comes up to push strands of wet hair off my cheek.

The moment his skin brushes against mine, a full body shiver racks through my bones.

One touch. That’s all it takes from this man to make me come undone for him. One. Touch.

“Sin…” I breathe, heart rate spiking to the point a doctor might be concerned about the condition of my heart. “What are you doing?”

“I’m embracing the moment,” he murmurs, deep voice mixing with the rain falling heavily around us.

I blink through the rain. “You are?”

“I am.” He nods. “And it’s fucking terrifying.”

My heart squeezes in my chest. “Why?”

“Because I shouldn’t do this,” he squeezes out. “I have so much on the line that could blow up in my face, but at this moment, I can’t find the energy to care.”

With Ed Sheeran’s voice singing in my right ear, Sinnett holds my cheek in his hand. And like a child with no willpower, I lean into his touch, relishing in the warmth radiating from his skin. I’m afraid that if I speak or make a move, the moment will be ruined.

“I shouldn’t want you, Tate. But I do. Fuck , do I want you.

” Inky strands of hair fall over his forehead, shielding his ocean eyes from me.

“But the question is: do you want me?” From this angle, head tilted back as I look up at the man I should be keeping my distance from, I see the war raging in his features. A battle I can’t help him fight.

Do you want me?

No matter how many times I repeat the four words in my head, the answer is always the same.

Sinnett is right when said he has a lot on the line—we both do.

If we break the rule keeping us from toying the edge of this forbidden cliff, if I give in to my desire for Sinnett, we would be betraying my father.

Sinnett has his career to think about, and my job and relationship with Dad would be on the line.

Wait.

I’m an idiot. A stupid, forgetful idiot.

“But you have a girlfriend,” I squeeze out. My hands fist in the pockets of the jacket—a jacket I shouldn’t be wearing—my nails digging in my palm.

Sinnett’s features twist with anger as his brows crease. His hand slips from my cheek, and I hate that I’m the reason for the loss of touch. “A girlfriend? What are you talking about?”

“Zoe,” I murmur. “Isn’t she your girlfriend?”

“No,” he bites out, and runs a hand through his hair. “Who told you that? Did Zoe say something to you?”

With the music in my ear now silent, I have nothing to distract me from the fury festering in Sinnett’s features.

Oh, God. I really put my foot into it this time.

“No. Raya told me. She said you and Zoe have a complicated relation?—”

“We’re not together.”

“But she said?—”

“Tate, I don’t care what Raya told you,” Sinnett interjects roughly. He groans and runs a hand through his hair. “We never dated. We used to?—”

“Fool around,” I finish for him, my voice barely above a whisper. “I get it.”

I’m not surprised that Sinnett isn’t one to commit to a woman wholeheartedly.

Being a professional athlete means you have the pick of the crop whenever you want it.

I’m not naive enough to believe Sinnett isn’t potentially seeing other women.

Hell, he was probably hooking up with Zoe around the time we got together.

And while the thought stings, I can’t let it get to me.

Sinnett exhales a sharp breath. “Yeah. Whatever bullshit Zoe is spinning about us, it’s not true. I haven’t been with her in months.”

“You don’t have to explain yourself, Sinnett. You don’t owe me anything.”

“I at least owe you the decency of telling you where you stand with me.”

My eyes round at the edge as I stare up at Sinnett. “What… what are you talking about?”

Sinnett’s chest brushes against mine. The proximity sets my skin alight, and causes my skin to erupt with goosebumps. “I haven’t been with another woman since I was with you, Tate.”

“You haven’t?” I whisper, not trusting my voice.

“No, I haven’t,” he responds, voice hard yet gentle. “Because I’m not lying when I say my head has been fucked since meeting you.”

“It has?” My heart slams into my chest, drops of water gliding over the curve of my lips, which Sinnett keeps lowering his eyes to. “I haven’t either.”

I’m not the type of person to sleep casually with men, but he doesn’t need to know that.

“You haven’t?” he breathes, tongue darting out to lick the water from his bottom lip. “Good.”

“Good,” I repeat breathlessly. “That’s good.”

“Then believe me when I say that I can’t walk away from you, Tate.

” Sinnett’s hand slides through my hair, resting at my nape.

His touch prickles my skin in a delicious way, and I have to fight the urge to groan.

“No matter how many times I talked myself down from the edge only to return the next day, waiting to see if anything would change. But it didn’t.

I shouldn’t want you, but I do. Every word, every touch, every damn look. I want all of it.”

My chest tightens with an emotion I can’t place as I stare at the man who has taken up every part of my brain for the past three weeks.

I should push him away with a reminder of Dad’s warning, but at this moment, I can’t bring myself to do it.

Fighting the connection forming between us, fuelled by the small moments we’ve shared, has been far more difficult than I thought.

I don’t think I have the strength to continue, not when being together feels so right .

“I want you, too,” I whisper, the words getting lost in the rain falling around us. “All of you, Sin.”

“You do?” he rasps, eyes searching my face for any sign I’m lying.

I nod, fighting back a smile. “I do.”

“I can’t promise you this is going to be easy, or that it won’t get messy down the line, but I can promise you that you’ll have every part of me.

The good and the bad.” He lowers his head until our lips are almost touching.

“I do know that I breathe a little better when I’m with you, and while I don’t understand why that is, I don’t want to continue living without my source of oxygen. ”

Oh, my God . This man and his words.

“You don’t have to,” I breathe, the words melting into his lips.

Sinnett’s lips brush against mine, slow and deliberate at first. They’re wet from the water falling around us, but it doesn’t take away the sweetness of the bourbon and Coke he had been drinking tonight. I want more of it. Of him. I want more than I got the first night we met.

Throwing my arms around his neck, our chests flush, Sinnett deepens the kiss. His tongue swipes over my bottom lip, begging for entrance. I give it to him, and the moment our tongues collide, electricity shoots through my veins, hitting every edge of my body.

I don’t know what I’m doing when it comes to Sinnett Baxter.

He’s complicated and reserved, but has a softer side to him that he doesn’t show others.

Hell, I’m only just now starting to see it.

But it doesn’t change the fact that I don’t know how to navigate this man.

What I do know is that this feels right. Kissing him feels right.

Sinnett groans as he presses himself against me, one hand tangled in my hair while the other firmly holds my waist. I moan into his mouth, relishing in the warmth exploding in my chest. If he wasn’t holding me up, I would be in a crumpled heap at his feet, getting lost in the puddles forming around us on the footpath.

Sinnett pulls away long enough to breathlessly whisper, “This moment right here.”

“What about it?” I ask, lifting my eyes to meet his.

He grins. “The lyrics of the Ed Sheeran song you played me? Yeah, this moment right here is going to be what I think about any time I want to kiss you or listen to that song.”

Oh, God .

How am I meant to survive a man like Sinnett Baxter when my heart is already a goner?