“I have my suspicions,” she mumbles.
“Well, fucking tell me,” I growl, the smoke streaming from my nose.
Vienna laughs. “Eloise thinks he came back for you.”
“He did,” Posie clips. “And she’s back, so now he knows she’s okay and he can leave.”
My chest continues to tighten until it’s in a knot and I can barely take in a breath. “Why do you guys think this?”
“Because, it’s Reign. I’ve never seen a guy more protective, more feral, over a girl before. The moment word travels that you’re shipped across the country, he comes home,” Eloise says, waving her hand around. “Not to mention, Reign knows what these parties are like. Has he ever really attended them? No, he never did. But he knew you were coming tonight, so guess what? Here the fuck he is.” She rolls her eyes, and I can’t help it as my head slowly turns, glancing over my shoulder. Reign is talking to Creed, and they are both in such deep conversation, my body softens as I watch him.
He’s so handsome in the way his body moves effortlessly. His arm extends over the boat, and he ashes his cigarette, a small smirk sharpening his jaw. I wonder, if I brought my fingers up against him, would I bleed?
I sigh, and slender fingers hit my cheek, Eloise turning my face toward hers. “Don’t go there, Lakyn. Stay fucking strong,” she urges.
I laugh, shrugging out of her hold. “I’d never go there again. After what happened before, when everything went down, I’ll never put myself through that again.”
An arm slinks around my waist, and I glance over my shoulder, seeing Kyler standing there, an unlit blunt between his fingers. “How long has it been?” he murmurs, pulling a lighter out of his pocket.
I lift a brow. “About eleven months now. No time to get high when you’re busy moving bales of hay all day.”
He sparks the tip, and I watch as it glows orange, the sweet scent of marijuana filling the air. He smirks at me around the cloud of smoke. “Too long, baby.” His free hand goes to the back of my neck, and he pulls my hair over my shoulders as his eyes clash with mine. “I missed you,” he murmurs around the blunt.
My heart warms, pitter-pattering against my ribs. “I missed you too, Ky.”
Smirking, his fingers pinch the blunt as he leans forward. I know what he’s about to do before he makes a move. I shift, turning toward him, my fingers pinching just below the cherry. He blows, the stream of smoke rushing toward my mouth. Forming anOwith my lips, I inhale the smoke as it pours between them. My chest tickles within seconds, the rush instant. My fingers release the tip of the blunt, and I turn away, my palm covering my mouth, the other clutching my chest as I let out a hacking cough.
“Come on, Lake. Thought you were stronger than that.” Kyler laughs, taking a hit of his own. He reaches up, threading his fingers through his hair as he pushes it away from his face.
I shoot him a glare, my eyes watering. “Shut up, Kyler.” I let out another cough.
“Pussy.” He laughs some more, and when I scowl at him, his hand goes behind my neck, and he pulls me toward him, his lips pressing against the corner of my mouth. “I’m glad you’re back, babe.”
I sigh as I pull away, my chest light and heavy in the same breath. I missed this. Missed them. Us. All of it.
It’s good to be home.
Creed walks up, and he tosses his arm over Vienna’s shoulder. She smiles up at him as she snuggles against his chest, her head resting on his shoulder. Kyler hands him the blunt, and he takes it, lifting it to his lips. “It does feel good to have us together again. Just like old times.”
I can feel the tension-filled dark cloud of Reign as he steps up to us.
Don’t look at him.
I don’t know how many times I could repeat it to myself, yet I do. I try, but I’m weak. I’m so damn weak when it comes to him.
My eyes fall to his, and my breath seizes when I see him already watching me.
“What’re you guys saying?” Archer asks, taking a sip of his beer.
“Just saying how good it is to have the whole crew together again. Just like old times.” Creed smirks, taking a hit of the blunt before he passes it to Reign.
Reign’s eyes are slow, almost sensual, as they trail across each of us, finally landing on mine. “Just like old times,” he murmurs, pinching the blunt between his fingers. He takes a hit, keeping his eyes connected to mine through the cloud of smoke. He strips me bare and leaves me with nothing. “Right, Lakyn?”
I take a sip of my drink, both the liquor and weed making my head hazy. “Maybe. I guess it’s too soon to tell.”
He lifts a brow, walking around the group until he stands behind me. I refuse to look at him, refuse to turn my head over my shoulder. It doesn’t matter, though, because the heat from his body is fierce, and my skin feels as if it’s melting beneath his touch without even needing to collide.
My body tenses as I feel strong fingers wrap around my waist, bare skin to bare skin. I blow out a shaky breath, knowing his touch. I’ve memorized the feel of him. His fingers press against my skin is as if they’ve been custom-made, perfectly molding around my hip and settling possessively around my waist. “Definitely too soon to tell,” he mumbles before he steps back, and I swallow down my gasp as he leaves my body.