Torn (A Wicked Saga, #2)(55)

“You’re nervous,” he pointed out, dropping into the seat beside me. “I don’t want you to be nervous.”

“Is it that obvious?”

“Yeah.” He glanced up at my messy knot. “I get that things have been . . . tough recently.”

“Tough?” I laughed, sliding my hands along my knees. “I’m just . . . I don’t know. I keep thinking this is some kind of dream. That sounds stupid, doesn’t it?”

“It’s not stupid.” Ren twisted toward me, placing his hand over mine. “I left you without giving you a chance to fully explain. I dropped off the map. It was wrong, especially after what happened to your friend.”

“Yeah, that was kind of . . . dickish.”

Ren’s eyes shone like cut gems. “I overreacted. Trust me, I regret it.”

“You do?”

“More than you will ever know,” he said.

I took a deep breath that felt like it went nowhere. “How are we going to make this work?”

“I don’t know,” he answered. “But I know we will.”

There was a lot to be said. A lot. I felt like my brain was cycling on repeat, but when he leaned in, pressing his forehead against mine, I closed my eyes and let myself just be here, in this moment, with the man I’d fallen deeply in love with.

I gripped Ren’s arms, and I don’t know how I ended up on my back, but he was over me, and the tips of his fingers were trailing down the side of my face and over the curve of my jaw. I was finding it hard to breathe.

Ren brought his mouth to mine. The kiss didn’t start off slow. He nipped at my lower lip, causing me to gasp. As my lips parted, he took full of advantage of that. He still tasted of mint, and as his tongue curled around mine. I reached up and dragged my hand through his messy, silky hair.

A thousand questions were whirling in my head. There was so much we needed to talk about, but I couldn’t think beyond the way he felt and tasted, of how his body felt on top of mine.

I jerked when his cool fingers coasted over the skin of my stomach and up my side, to the strap of my bra. His lips left mine, trailing down my neck. Eyes closed, I tipped my head back, giving him more access. His hand closed over the cup of my bra, causing my back to arch. My hips rose out of instinct, moving restlessly against him.

I paused, my eyes fluttering open. I didn’t feel him, which was odd, because for Ren there was normally no hiding how interested he was, and he was always interested. Was he really into this or—Oh gosh, I stopped that mess of thoughts from continuing, but I planted my hands against his chest. “Do you . . . do you want to slow down?”

“Stop?” He shifted then, sliding a strong leg between my thighs, hitting that spot with shocking accuracy. “That’s the last thing I want to do.”

“You don’t—”

His mouth silenced my questions, and he was kissing me again like before, leaving little room for thought.

Ren’s hands got involved again, and his touch had warmed, so when I jumped this time it was because his fingers had made their way under the cups of my bra. “Amazing,” he murmured, sliding his other hand down to my hip. He urged me to move, and it really didn’t take much. I rocked my hips, riding his thigh as I slipped my hands under his shirt.

His mouth lifted. “Do you want—?” A knock on his front door drew his attention. He turned his head, looking over the back of his couch. A moment passed and then his eyes found mine. “Ignore it.”

I was down for that.

Ren’s fingers shoved my bra aside. The knocks got louder. His thumb coasted over my nipple.

The banging at the door continued, this time followed by a voice. “Ren, if you’re in there, I need you to open this damn door right now.”

Vaguely recognizing the voice, I groaned under my breath as I pulled my hands out from underneath his shirt. “You should probably get that.”

Ren made a low, growly sound in the back of his throat as he lifted himself up off of me. It was a little scary and kind of hot, even though I wasn’t entirely sure he was that into what was going on.

He swung his legs off the couch and rose swiftly. I sat up and fixed my bra so I didn’t have a boob hanging out, then tugged my shirt down. Ren was by the door when I peered over the back of the couch. He opened it, and I saw immediately why I had recognized the voice.

Henry strode right on in, brushing past Ren. His gaze cut to where I was peeping over the cushion, and he sneered in a way that made me feel like he was a second from spitting on the ground. “Well, that f*cking explains why you haven’t been answering your damn phone.”

Ren shoved the door shut then turned, facing Henry.

“Where in the f*ck have you been?” Henry demanded. “Kyle said you were reliable and that we could count on you. So far the only thing we can count on is you spending your time getting f*cked.”

My brows rose. “Hi, Henry.”

He twisted toward me, giving Ren his back. “Thought you haven’t heard from him, huh?”

I smiled tightly, deciding I didn’t feel like clarifying that I hadn’t heard from Ren until an hour or so ago. I was really beginning to not like this guy’s attitude.

“This is bullshit,” Henry snapped, his gaze drifting over my face like he could actually see what he’d just interrupted and he was disgusted about it. Now I was feeling pretty insulted. “Ren, you cannot be ser—”