Page 9 of Break Me

“Stay still,” I whisper, bracing a hand beside her head. “He won’t come around back unless⁠—”

The boots pause near the doorway, and we both hold our breath. Raven’s fingers curl into my jacket. Her pulse is hammering against her neck. Hell, mine’s not much better.

A beat.

Two.

Then the boots move again, heading back toward the front.

She releases a shaky breath. “He almost caught us.”

“Yeah.” I drag my thumb across her lower lip, wiping the kiss-smudge I put there. “And you didn’t exactly help the situation.”

She glares, whispering, “Me? You’re the one who⁠—”

“I’m the one who what?” I murmur, leaning in, letting my breath scrape her jaw. “Kissed you like I missed you? Or kissed you like I know exactly how you fall apart when I touch you?”

Her knees go soft for half a second. I catch her hip, steadying her.

“Wolf,” she warns, but she’s already leaning into me again.

I shake my head. “Not here. Not tonight.”

Her breath catches. “Then why’d you follow me out here?”

I press my forehead to hers, voice rough. “Because I always follow you.”

She closes her eyes like that somehow makes this easier.

It doesn't. Not for her, and definitely not for me.

“I have to go,” she whispers.

“I know.”

She fixes her coat, smooths her hair, then touches my bandaged hand for half a second.

“It’ll be fine in a few days,” I assure her. “You go inside first. I’ll follow you in a few minutes.”

For the longest moment, neither of us moves. Then, finally, she slips away from me and disappears around the corner.

I stay against the wall for a long second, breathing her in, and trying like hell to pull myself together.

Then I head back inside.

Like I didn’t just cross another line I can’t uncross.

Raven

Samuel Morgan.

The man who’s been orbiting, disrupting, and quietly consuming my life since I was sixteen. The man who owns my heart in ways I can’t even hide from myself.

The problem?

He’s my older brother, Knox’s best friend.

The VP of the Blackwater MC.