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My hands are around his face, his unoccupied one buried in my hair. The other finds its way from inside my pants, resting carefully on my thigh. It starts rough and needy, until it transitions to slow and methodical, bringing me right back to our day in the woods.
It’s not until the ride stops that we part from each other. He discreetly zips and buttons my jeans beneath his sweater before pulling it back on and helping me out of the seat. I follow him back into the world and away from the little slice of isolated heaven he’d taken me to.
CHAPTER FIFTY
RHENN
What the actual fuck? I just kissed Sumner. In public. For the whole damn world to see. It was intended to be quick, muffle her gorgeous moans from prying ears, because she makes those sounds only for me. But I kept kissing. She kept kissing.
Fucking fuck.
So, maybe I don’t completely hate her as much as I used to, but…the hell, man?
“Here.” I toss her her link, which she barely manages to catch. “Be sure to tell your boyfriend I made you shudder at two hundred feet in the air.”
The reminder of being suspended that high has her momentarily paling before reverting to the cold features I adore.
I didn’t peg her to be scared of heights. I bet she would have enjoyed that “ride” a whole lot more if she took in the sight of Fall Haven from the top. Miles of lights and lush forest in every direction. One hell of a view, for sure. Guess I can’t say much, since I wasn’t watching it either.
I fully intended to do what I did to her, and rushing wasn’t part of the plan. Which is why I tipped the guy controlling the wheel a decent amount to make the ride go for longer. It was entirely worth it to see the glossy haze in her eyes while she tried to control her breathing.
“I don’t do boyfriends.” She says the word like it’s a foreign concept.
“Right. Just guys who have it out for you.” I shoot her a wink and she slaps my arm. The comment has her smiling again, but I can’t help thinking there’s more to her statement than simply not wanting a relationship. In fact, I know there is. My damaged little fox is broken in her own right, and though I may not know exactly why, I think I have a pretty good idea. She’s let off enough for me to know she’s been through some fucked up shit. Shit that makes my blood boil to think about.
As far as Dax is concerned, I could tell she was bored in the messages, putting zero effort into the conversation. Which either means she was doing it for the sole purpose of trying to get a rise out of me, or that my company was really that damn bland.
Either way, fuck that guy.
“How have I never been to this side of town?” Sumner asks, looking around the park.
There’s a decent number of people here, but it isn’t all that busy thanks to the chilly weather. Worked in my favor, since I wasn’t about to finger fuck Sumner publicly with no sweater to cover what I don’t want the world seeing. And I don’t mean being with her like this. I’m not ashamed to be around her. My issues with her are unknown to anyone other than me, so in someone else’s view, it’s not an abstract thing for me to be close to her—unless you’re my uncle, which would make it the end of the fucking world. For her and probably me. I just don’t want a damn soul catching sight of something meant for my eyes only.
“Not much over here other than the Ferris wheel,” I respond. “You hungry?”
“Starving, actually.”
Good, because so am I.
I lead Sumner to the opposite end of the park where a hot dog stand is calling my name. She beams at my side as she’s handed hers. It’s plain compared to mine, which is loaded with everything they offer.
“What’s that look for?”
“Nothing.” She giggles, biting into one end. “It’s just this place is so different from where I’m from, but sometimes, it feels exactly the same.” She holds up her hot dog as if it’s supposed to signify something.
“Stop talking and eat your food.”
Sumner grins at me and I can’t help but smile back.
“I wish I could have met your dad,” she says, way too casually, taking a seat on the grass. I watch her carefully, not really sure how to respond. She’s talked about her mom some with me. I’ve yet to reciprocate the discussion regarding my own life. It’s a delicate subject. Especially for me to have with her.
“You would have liked him,” I eventually say.
“Was he anything like you?”
I think back to the first camping trip my dad had ever taken me on. It was special. A night just for the two of us. The weather was horrible, freezing wind and hail. I remember feeling so warm despite it. He had given me his jacket, wrapping it around me like an oversized blanket. We sat around the fire drinking hot cocoa and telling stories. It was the night he told me about us, what we really were. He told me not to fear the shadow, but to embrace it. Except he never told me how. He never had the chance.
Fuck, I miss him.
