A Mad Zombie Party - Showalter Gena - Страница 56

Frustrating silence. Crackling tension.

A low growl causes his chest to vibrate. “I feel... Damn it, I feel...”

“Tell me.”

“I feel like I can’t get enough. Like I have to have more, will do anything for more. And damn it, I’m getting more.” He cups my nape and yanks me against the hard line of his body.

I gasp. He swoops down, his mouth smashing into mine. His tongue thrusts past my lips, demanding entrance.

This is really happening? Frosty is kissing me? Then his tongue rolls against mine and the most intense pleasure consumes me, and I kiss him back with everything I’ve got, plowing my hands through his hair.

He tilts my head the way he wants it and takes my mouth deeper, harder. I whimper. I have wanted this, needed this, for so long, and now he’s giving it to me and, and, and...

He anchors both hands under my bottom and hefts me up. “Wrap your legs around me.”

The moment I obey, he walks me to the bed, every step causing us to rub together, creating the most delicious friction. He lowers me, settles his weight on top of me, and I realize he isn’t the only one who needs more.

Heat wafts from him, enveloping me, and my blood turns molten; my bones liquefy. My body moves of its own accord, arching up, into him, grinding against his hardness.

He hisses. “I want you, Milla.”

He said my name. He knows I’m the one he’s with.

“Yes.” Oh, yes. I pull at his shirt, but I can’t get it off him while his hands are still on me. “Shirt. Off,” I say between thrusts of our tongues.

He rips the material over his head and suddenly my nails are scraping over the tattoos on his back. I’m purring, and he’s groaning.

“Your turn.” A command.

I lift and he quickly divests me of my shirt and bra, leaving me bare from the waist up. He goes still, peering down at me with wonder.

“You’re so beautiful, Mills.”

The way he’s looking at me, I feel beautiful...even cherished. “Kiss me, Aston.” I use his name for the first time, and it tastes good on my tongue. “Don’t ever stop.”

His eyes grow darker as he dives back down, claiming my mouth in a kiss that sears even my soul. Our chests are skin-to-skin, and I want the rest of us that way, too. I’ve never felt anything so—

“Frosty?” Kat’s voice intrudes.

“Kat?” Frosty wrenches away from me and stands. He’s fighting for breath as he turns to face his ex-girlfriend, is paling as she backs away from him. “Kat,” he repeats, taking a step toward her.

She disappears.

He takes another step, this one toward the door.

First, confusion hits me. He’s leaving me? Then, horror dawns. He’s definitely leaving me—for his ex.

Oh...hell. He’s leaving me for his ex.

I sit up, scramble for my shirt and yank it over my head, desperate to cover myself.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” he tells me, anguish in his eyes, dripping from the words.

Sorry isn’t good enough. “Don’t do this,” I whisper. “Stay.”

He scrubs a shaky hand down his face. “I’m sorry,” he repeats. “I have to... I owe her.”

What about me?

He strides from the room without another word...leaving me alone. Always alone. Never good enough. Never “the one.”

He didn’t bang me, but he sure did bail.

My heart breaks. All I can do is curl into a ball and sob.

I’m trembling as I shut myself in one of the empty bedrooms and shout for Kat. What she saw...

Witnesses aren’t allowed to view romantic or intimate moments. When the screen—isn’t that what she’d called it?—went blank, she must have come looking for me. What happened...hell, it never should have happened. I knew it then, and I know it now. And not because of Kat.

I’ve been a dead man walking since Kat’s death, and Milla helped bring me back to life. I owe her, just like I’d claimed to owe Kat. But if we’d had sex today, would I have offered her more afterward? A happily-ever-after I’ve only ever imagined with Kat?

Probably not. Because, even though we’re friends, I’m not falling for her. I can’t be falling for her. Yes, she matters to me. Yes, I’m borderline obsessed with keeping her safe. Yes, I crave more time with her—to talk, because she’s smart and funny. But I told her I wouldn’t hit and run. And committing to her, just so I can touch and kiss her... I can’t do it.

Are you sure? Temptation whispers. You’re still on fire for her, desperate to be with her. Only her.

Shut the hell up.

If our history is our foundation, then our foundation is built on blood, guilt and sorrow. Whatever we manage to build will come crashing down during the first storm. I’ll lose her, and I can’t survive losing another girl.

Maybe I’d be willing to risk it, though—maybe I’d be willing to risk everything—if Milla put me first. I put my girl first, and I expect the same from her. But River is and will always be her top priority. With good reason.

“Kat,” I shout. “Let’s discuss this. Please.”

She appears between one blink and another, tears streaking down her cheeks. “How could you kiss her?”

The first spark of anger burns through me. “You can’t have it both ways. You can’t cut me loose and act jealous when I’m with someone else.”

She flinches. “I’m not jealous. I just... I told you anyone but her for your benefit.”

I scrub a hand down my face. “I like her. She’s a good person, and she’s had a crap life. She’s my friend.”

“Do you usually suck the air from a friend’s lungs?”

“That’s no longer your concern, is it?”

“I know. I know.” She draws in a heavy breath, holds it, and as she slowly releases it, her eyes beseech me. “I want you with someone else, want you happy...but you can’t be with her, Frosty. You just can’t. Pick anyone else, and you’ll get my gold-star stamp of approval.”

Over the years I’ve faced zombies, toxin, injury and the death of loved ones, but this...this might be worse. “I said I would love you forever, and that hasn’t changed. I do, and I will. You’re one of the best things to ever happen to me, but you’re not my girlfriend. Not anymore. If I decide to be with Milla, I will. You don’t get a vote, and your stamp of approval isn’t necessary.”

“Frosty.” She clasps her hands together, creating a steeple. “Please, don’t do this. You don’t understand.”

“Kitten—”

“You remember my cousin Teresa, right? She’s smart and pretty, and she has—”

“Kitten,” I repeat gently but firmly. “Enough.”

“No.” She closes her eyes, tears catching in her lashes. “She’s going to... Frosty, Camilla is going to die.”

“Of course she is. Death is hereditary.”

“Yes, but her death will come sooner rather than later. Ali’s vision...” Kat’s voice goes soft. “Camilla will save you...but she’ll die doing it.”

The words reverberate inside my mind—she’ll die, sooner rather than later, she’ll die—and an unholy rage overtakes me. “Tell me everything you know about the vision. Every detail. Now.”

Kat flinches, but says, “You’re inside a building. You’re cut, bleeding. Cole, Ali and the others are lined up behind you. There’s a gun trained on you, held in a very feminine hand. A series of shots go off. Camilla moves in front of you and takes the hail of bullets.”

As she speaks, a thousand-pound weight settles on my chest.

“I never thought you’d grow to like her.” Kat’s eyes plead with me to forgive her. “I thought she’d get what she deserves, and that would be that. I made Ali promise not to tell anyone, not even Cole, because I thought the end justified the means. I wanted you safe. More than anything I wanted you safe.”