Page 57 of Wish You Were Mine (Kings of Eden Falls #3)

LUCY

The science building was so quiet today. No distant footsteps. No professors chatting in the halls. No students laughing in study groups. Just the low hum of fluorescent lights and the faint clink of glassware as Owen set up the station for my makeup lab.

“Is it weird that I kind of love how empty it is in here?” I leaned against the counter, my voice sounding louder than expected in the silence. “It’s like the whole place belongs to us.”

He paused, glancing around the lab before meeting my eyes with a smirk. “Kind of makes you feel like you could get away with anything in here, doesn’t it?”

“Exactly.” I smiled, liking that we seemed to be on the same wavelength. “Makes you feel like you could…break a few rules.”

“Now that…” his eyes brightened, a slow smile spreading across his face, “is a dangerous thing to say.”

“And why’s that?” I asked, leaning in closer and looking up at him with innocent eyes.

He switched the burner on and then stepped a little closer. “ Because I’ve imagined having you alone in this lab way more times than I should probably admit.”

“Oh yeah?” My eyebrows arched, suddenly intrigued.

Has he actually thought about kissing me in here?

Because yeah, all those stolen glances we’d shared across the lab this semester had definitely given me a few ideas of my own.

“Definitely.” He nodded. “Like right now…” His eyes darkened as his hands slid to my hips. “I could set you up on that counter,” he murmured near my ear, stepping closer until I could feel the heat radiating off his body, “and take my time with you.”

His gaze dipped to my mouth, then dragged slowly back to my eyes, like he was already imagining every detail.

“I’d lean in slow,” he said, his thumbs brushing slow, measured circles against my sides. “Close enough to touch, but not quite. And I’d just…breathe you in. Let the anticipation build.”

And when he leaned in closer, I swallowed, suddenly overcome by his presence.

Was this leading where I hoped it was?

To that forbidden kiss I’d been imagining ever since the first day I walked into this lab?

“And then, after teasing you just long enough, I’d kiss you,” he said, pressing his lips to my neck, then my jawline. “Deep, steady. Until you’re clutching the edge of the counter because nothing else feels solid.”

My breath caught. He was way too good at this.

“You’d really kiss me right here?” I barely managed to say, pulse kicking up at the look in his eyes. “A-aren’t you scared of getting caught?”

“Just a little,” he admitted, his voice dipping low as his face hovered near mine again. “But…” His hands tightened at my hi ps. “I haven’t kissed you properly in days, so I’m just a little tempted to take the risk.”

Then, without a word, he effortlessly lifted me onto the counter, the cool surface making me gasp. “Have you ever kissed anyone in a chemistry lab before?” I asked, already lightheaded from the heat boiling between us.

“In real life? No.” He pulled back just enough to meet my gaze, a wicked smile on his lips. “But in my daydreams…” He gave me a look that told me his fantasies may have been every bit as forbidden as mine had been. “In my daydreams, I’ve kissed you in here a time or two.”

“Just once or twice?” I arched an eyebrow, feigning control even though I was completely breathless.

“Okay…” He chuckled, the sound low and rough. “So maybe it was more times than I can count.”

“Good.” I grinned. “Because I’ve totally imagined it, too.”

His eyes burned into mine for a beat, then flicked toward the door.

A quick check.

As if reassured that we were in fact alone, he slid his hands along my thighs. Then stepping between my knees, he said, “Then maybe we can fulfill just a tiny bit of that fantasy while we wait for the solution to heat up.”

“Deal.”

He kissed me then, hard and hungry. Like he’d been waiting all day to do this. His hands skimmed higher along my thighs, anchoring at my hips as my legs wrapped around him on instinct.

And because I actually did need something to hold onto, I fisted the back of his lab coat with one hand and tangled the other in his hair, tugging just enough to make him deepen the kiss. And when he responded by teasing my mouth open, he completely stole the breath out of me .

And wow, I didn’t think I could ever get enough of this man and the way his kisses made me feel.

Electric.

Alive.

Desired.

His lips found my neck, brushing lower with every pass. And each time his lips pressed against my skin, I felt his restraint lessen more and more.

“You’re going to ruin me,” he murmured against my throat, the words barely audible but soaked in heat.

And when one of his hands slid beneath my shirt, his thumb curling gently against my ribs, I knew he was indeed barely hanging on by a thread

“You know…” I mumbled when his lips found mine once more, “we could always slip into your office for a few minutes. Come back to the experiment later.”

“Such a tempting thought...” He groaned softly, his grip tightening against my ribs.

“It could be fun…” I said, hoping to tempt him even further. “We could find another use for your desk.”

His breath caught, then he groaned again, low and rough, like the idea physically hurt.

But just as his tongue flicked against mine, a muffled voice echoed in the hallway.

We froze.

Just for a second.

Breaths locked. Bodies still tangled.

Then we broke apart.

I slid off the counter, heart hammering, as I reached for my safety goggles with shaky hands. Owen adjusted his stance, breathing hard, eyes darting toward the door.

A second later, a shadow passed the frosted glass window. Someone is here .

We both held still, barely breathing as we waited for what might come next.

When the steps continued down the hall, growing more distant, we both let out sighs of relief.

“That,” I whispered, trying not to laugh as adrenaline fizzed through me, “was way too close.”

Owen ran a hand through his hair, looking slightly shell-shocked. “We seriously have to stop pushing our luck.”

“Maybe we should get back to the experiment?” I asked, slipping my goggles on like I hadn’t just had my legs wrapped around him five seconds ago.

“Yeah,” he agreed, passing me a fresh stir rod. “But when this lab is over, we’re definitely finishing that…conversation. Somewhere more private.”

A warm ache bloomed low in my belly. “Looking forward to it.”

“Speaking of things I’m looking forward to…” he said. “Think you could airdrop that photo of us now that your phone is back from the dead?”

“You didn’t get it?” I blinked up at him. “I texted it to you last night.”

“I didn’t see it.” He frowned and pulled out his phone. After scrolling through it for a moment, he turned the screen so I could see our text thread. Our texts from yesterday morning were there, but nothing after that.

“That’s strange.” My brows pulled together. Had I just imagined texting him then?

I opened my photo app, selected the picture again, and hit share, choosing his name from the airdrop list.

A second later, his phone buzzed.

“Got it,” he said, showing me the photo of us on his phone.

“Glad it worked,” I said, setting my phone on the tabletop. “Though I could have sworn I sent it last night. ”

“Hopefully, you didn’t accidentally send it to some random stranger,” he teased, tucking his phone back in his pocket. “It could be bad if a photo of us got out.”

We both froze as soon as his words were out.

Oh no.

I felt the blood drain from my face as I picked up my phone again and opened my messages. And even though I hadn’t texted my brother for a week or so, at the top of the list was Theo.

A contact name so close to “Theo’s friend.”

No, no, no, no, no. My stomach dropped as I tapped the thread.

And there it was. The photo. Me nestled against Owen’s chest on the train, both of us smiling.

“I’m so sorry, Owen.” My voice came out in a whisper as I turned the screen toward him. “I must’ve tapped Theo instead of Theo’s friend.”

Owen’s eyes flashed wide with panic, and he leaned in, studying the screen. “Okay, wait. It says ‘Delivered’ but not ‘Read.’ So that means he hasn’t seen it yet, right? So we might still be okay…”

“Yeah.” I nodded quickly, grasping onto that thought like a lifeline. “He was probably already asleep when I sent it. And he’s probably been busy in court today. So maybe we have time to fix this…”

Which was how? I didn’t know.

I stared at the photo like it had the power to explode everything we’d been careful to protect.

“I wish there was a way to magically delete the photo from his phone,” I said when no other ideas popped into my mind.

“That would certainly come in handy right now,” Owen said, dragging a hand through his hair. “Is there any chance you could, I don’t know… sneak into his office an d delete it?”

“You want me to drive to New Haven and Mission Impossible his phone?”

“If it saves our lives and my career, it’s worth a shot, right?”

But before I could respond, a bubbling hiss behind us made us both jump.

“Oh shoot—” I rushed back to the experiment, turning down the heat beneath the beaker just as Owen grabbed the flask beside it and added a splash of water to bring the reaction back under control. A few seconds later, the bubbling slowed.

Once it stabilized, I looked at Owen and said, “Maybe I could text Theo’s assistant. See if she could get into his phone and delete it. I think she likes me.”

“Might as well try, at least.” Owen nodded.

I pulled up my messaging app, scrolling to find a text thread with Theo’s assistant. I was sure I hadn’t deleted it after planning his surprise party.

But before I could get to it, a new message popped up on my phone.

From Theo.

Theo: Uh, I think you sent that to the wrong number, sis.

Theo: Also...what the hell are you doing in that photo with Owen? Have you been sneaking around with him?

“No!” I let out a strangled gasp. “He just saw it.”

“What?” Owen looked over, his voice tight.