Page 74 of When We Ignite

I smiled faintly. “I’ll stop. As soon as you leave, I swear I’ll stop,” I promised. “But if I could ask you for one more thing before you go—and don’t say no until you hear me out.”

His wary eyes lifted to meet mine. “What?”

I glanced at his lips, and he shook his head before I could even finish. “If I could kiss you one more time?—”

“No,” he interrupted firmly.

“Just once—I said you had to listen to why,” I argued, but he continued to shake his head.

“I’m not going to fucking kiss you, Sebastian. You just told me this can’t happen,” he said, his voice rising with frustration.

“I know I did and that’s why. It’s for closure. We didn’t know that the last time was the last time, and it was fucking mind-blowing. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never kissed anybody like that, and I’m serious about giving you up. If I’m going to do it, we should just have one more before it’s done. It’s only fair.”

“You sound like a kid with a toy.”

“Make up your mind. Are you my toy or my pet?” I joked, but he didn’t so much as crack a smile.

“It’s not fucking funny.”

“You’re right—it’s not,” I admitted. “Please?”

He looked away, conflicted. “I’m not doing it on your terms,” he said finally, defiance sparking in his voice.

I opened my mouth to respond, but before I could, he grabbed my neck and pulled me down. Rising onto the balls of his feet, Ethan kissed me fiercely, his lips crashing into mine.

I steadied him, my hands on his waist helping him to stay up against me, and parted my lips for him. He kissed me like we’d been doing it for hours—not bothering with slowness—and just like everything else he did, it was perfect. I let him keep control for a second more before wrapping my arms around his waist and holding him firmly against me. His hands clung to my hair and grabbed a little tighter than warranted, probably in retaliation.

I walked back until we reached a wall I could press him up against, and used it as leverage to get more control over him. Every time his lips moved over mine, I pressed closer, forcing him to slow down the pace, to deepen it enough to let us both enjoy it again.

I tried my best to get him to ease into it and almost sighed when I felt him loosen his grip.

That was more like it.

It was still intense and a little too fast, but this way we could feel each other properly.

Kissing Ethan was like kissing fire—wild, untamed, consuming. He didn’t hesitate or hold back. I still wasn’t sure if it was his age or his personality, but even though he knew how to control himself, when he was provoked, he turned into pure impulse. The way he fought was more similar to the way he kissed. There wasn’t one thing I could say I disliked about him.

His fuller lips felt plump against mine. His breath was warm, and in every swipe of my tongue I could taste that fucking watermelon thing he passed off as smoking. It tasted horrible, but on him it was heavenly.

I finally rested my forehead against his, my breaths mingling with his.

“Was that enough closure for you?” he muttered, bitterness lacing his words.

“I don’t think I could ever have enough of you, darling, but that will have to do,” I whispered.

“Stop saying things you don’t mean.”

I laughed softly, brushing a hand over his back.“I mean it, Ethan. If I could tell the rest of the world to fuck off, I’d lock you up in my room and never let you out.”

“You’re such a fucking creep, Ash.”

I laughed. Those little glimpses of humor in him were incredible too. There was the tiniest trace of a smile on his lips.

“Took you long enough to notice,” I teased, kissing him once more, quick and soft. “I’m sorry this didn’t work out.”

Ethan pulled on my hair again, making a pleasant shiver go down my back. “Why don’t we just keep going?” he asked, his voice quiet. “You said you were going to get me out of my clothes last time.”

I closed my eyes and groaned. “I can’t. Trust me, I’d love to, but I can’t.”