Inked: A Driven World Novel (The Driven World), стр. 37

The fingers of his other hand gently brush against my cheek, sending a shiver down my spine. His eyes stare deep into mine. It’s like he sees me—the real me, cracks, dents, regrets and all—despite the fact that he’s barely scratched the surface of my life.

“You’re incredible. I’ve never had a first date before.” His admission hits me right in the chest. How? How is that possible? “So rest assured that if I didn’t want to be here right now, if I had any doubts about you, then I wouldn’t be.”

“Y-you’ve never had a date before?” I ask, utterly astounded.

He shakes his head.

“Why?”

He opens his mouth to respond but must change his mind at the last minute because he closes it again.

“It’s okay,” I encourage, desperate for him to open up just a little. It’s totally hypocritical of me because I’m not exactly an open book.

He sits back, sucking in a fortifying breath. “I’m not looking for forever, Harlow,” he admits as he stares out to ocean. “I’m not some kind of Prince Charming that you’re going to be able to gallop off into the sunset with.”

“But—”

“No. No buts. It’s who I am. I can’t be tied down.”

“Why?”

“Bad shit happens to those around me. I’m like a fucking curse that doesn’t stop striking. I refuse to drag anyone else into my fucked-up life.”

He pulls his knees up and rests his arms across the top as he focuses on the waves crashing.

“I’m no princess, Corey.”

The silence hanging between us is heavy, yet the pull I feel toward him never dissipates as he loses himself in his own head.

Pushing my plate aside, I do the only thing I can think of to drag him back from wherever he’s gone: I gently lift his arms and nudge his legs down before straddling his lap.

I take his cheeks in my hands. “Did you hear me?” I lean forward, the tip of my nose brushing his. “I said I’m no fucking princess.” I squeal as his hands grab onto my ass. He flips me over and stares into my eyes for a beat before crushing his lips to mine.

His kiss is hard, passionate, frantic, almost as if he just can’t get enough of me. I take everything he gives as my fingers grip tightly to the fabric at his back.

Our tongues duel and our teeth clash. I completely forget that we’re in a public place where everyone can see, and I lose myself to this tormented man.

He might think he’s a curse, but he has no idea that I’m the true poison here. But I fear that now I’ve had a taste of him, I’m not going to be able to release him.

When he eventually pulls back, both our chests heave for air as our breaths mingle. He stares down at me from his position with his hands either side of my head.

“Fuck,” he barks. “Why are you so fucking tempting?” I expect him to kiss me again, but I’m disappointed, because, after running his thumb along my bottom lip, he falls to the side and pulls me into his body.

His fingers trail around the softness of my stomach as we lie in silence. It’s not like it was earlier; it’s now comfortable with desire crackling between us. That kiss was amazing, but it was nowhere near what either of us needed.

“This is why I moved here,” he suddenly says, breaking the silence. He nods towards the empty beach and the orange and yellow sky. “I craved this kind of peace. This solitude. I had to get away, and here seemed like paradise.”

“And how’s it working out for you?”

“Good and bad.”

“How’s that?”

“Turns out you can’t run away from problems or nightmares. They follow you wherever you go.”

I may not have moved all that far from when I was a child, but I still know exactly what he means. “It doesn’t matter how much you try to drown them out, either. They’re always there.”

He looks down at me, and I’m powerless but to turn to him.

He searches my eyes as if he’s trying to find something. “You know. How do you know?”

“A lifetime of mistakes.”

“Tell me about it,” he says sadly, dropping back onto the blanket and resting his arm on my stomach. Together we stare at the sky as it darkens and the twinkling stars appear.

“Harlow?” he whispers so quietly I almost think I imagined it.

“Yeah?”

He twists so he’s on his side and staring down at me once more.

He bites down on his bottom lip as he considers his question, and I want to release it and bite on it myself. Lust shoots down my body as I remember what those lips are capable of. Of how alive he made me feel.

“Spend the night with me?”

My lips part to answer but no words come out. Instead, my mind goes crazy.

He’s already admitted he doesn’t do forever. Is this just a fancy hook-up? Did he do the date as a way to ensure I’d get in his bed?

“It’s okay. Forget it. Let’s just take you home.”

The thought of leaving him is worse than any of my previous concerns. If I go home, I get to climb into my cold bed and let my mind run crazy with thoughts of what could be. Or I could go with him and take a chance. The kind of chance Bailey has been begging for me to take for years.

“No. I want to stay with you.”

The muscles in his neck ripple as he swallows.

Leaning forward, he captures my lips, proving just how right my decision is.