Runaway by Katie Cross

Author:Katie Cross [Cross, Katie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: KC Writing

18

Mark

My brain stopped functioning.

When Stella and I finally untangled ourselves from the end of the pier, I felt fuzzy around the edges. She didn't protest when I wrapped her hand in mine and we wordlessly walked away, the quiet lake at our backs. Neither of us spoke—not sure I'd be capable of it—as we stepped back into my cabin and the silence there. She resumed her place at my desk but blinked at her laptop.

I sat on the couch and ran a hand through my hair, ignoring my phone as it rang.

My mind was too busy as it replayed that kiss to hear the obnoxious ringtone. The sparkle of tears that had lingered in her eyes when I first arrived. A mixture of vulnerability and chaos in her gaze. The way she'd slid onto my lap and kissed me back like we were about to die.

Maybe I had.

Because that is how I'd want to go.

The stupid phone rang again, but I ignored it. Lost in thoughts of the hint of spearmint that lived on her breath and what else I wanted to do with her now.

“Mark,” Stella drawled, drawing me from my thoughts. “Are you going to answer that?”

With a jerk, I pulled myself from my thoughts and scrambled for my phone. Heat rose to my cheeks as she quietly chuckled. An unknown number flashed across the screen, so I rejected it.

There was just one thing I wanted to do.

With a low growl, I tossed the phone on the couch, stalked to the desk, and pulled her back into my arms. Stella melted against my chest like butter, her lips instantly on mine as I yanked her to me. For what felt like an eternity, Stella let me kiss her. Let me realize that what happened out there wasn't a fluke, and it wasn't an imagined hope.

No, the heat between us was real.

Before I let it go too far, I pulled away. Stella blinked as I held her at arm's length, a note of confusion in her expression.

“I want to keep kissing you for the rest of my life,” I said before she could misjudge my intent, “but until we save Adventura, that's not feasible. And I think I need to take a moment and make sure you're okay with this.”

For half a breath, I feared she'd run away screaming. Realize that she'd made a mistake and now she had to fix it. Instead, a warm smile filled her eyes. Whatever changed in her, I had no idea. But the Stella that walked away from the pier was different than the one that went out there.

“Very okay,” she whispered.

Unable to help myself, I smiled. “Me too.”

She moved toward me as if to resume our new favorite activity together, but I rallied all my control and held her back. My finger lifted.

“Ah! One more thing.”

A silent eyebrow rose.

“What is this to you?” I asked carefully. “I need to know now if you're wanting a friends-with-benefits thing or if this is you wanting .

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