Beautiful Burn by Adriane Leigh Read Free Book Online Page A

stuff like this in public,” I stated. Her eyebrows
lifted quizzically before she turned and climbed up the bank, heading
for her clothes. I knew exactly what I hadn't said. I didn't think
either of us were naive enough to believe that we wouldn’t find
ourselves in the same embrace again. We were a foregone conclusion.
    “I should get home,” she
said.
    “What?” I asked in alarm.
“I thought you were staying all night?”
    “I was. I am. I just…need a
shower after that.” She swung her arm out dismissively. She seemed
irritated, rebuffed.
    “Hey.” I caught her arm and
pulled her to me. “Don't be upset.” I kissed her lips softly. We shouldn't be doing these things in public, but her feelings
meant more to me than anything else at that moment.
    When I pulled away and trailed
the pads of my thumbs across her cheekbones, her lips finally curved
in a soft smile. “I'm not.”
    “Good.” I pressed my
forehead to hers and let my eyes fall closed as I soaked up her
soothing scent. “Thanks for hanging out with me today.”
    “I should be thanking you.”
She murmured, her fingers dancing across my shoulders and making me
dizzy with desire. “What's this?” Her fingertips drew slow
circles around a single, fiery red mark on my skin.
    I winced before shrugging it
off. “Guess you were a little too rough in the water.” I teased
and caught her lips between my teeth, dragging and pulling in an
effort to drive her as insane with desire as I was. It seemed to work
when her hands clutched at my shoulders and she swayed into me, her
still damp body brushing against mine.
    “We really don’t want to be
caught.” I hummed and chased her lips as she pulled away, her head
dancing with mine in a sensual taunt. I finally grasped her head in
my palms and swallowed the smart retort I'm sure she had ready with
my lips. One hand trailed down the elegant dips and hollows of her
form while I kissed her, soft breaths and the rustle of clothing the
only sounds between us.
    “I should get going.” She
finally pulled away, breathless and looking thoroughly wound up.
    “Oh, sure. You’re coming
back later, then?” I pulled away, calm and collected, exactly how
she wasn't feeling. I couldn't help the grin begging to turn my lips
up for leaving her flustered, how she often left me, on purpose, I
was sure of it.
    “Oh, I don’t know.” She
mused as she pulled her jeans up her legs. “Callie says she’s
making me, but if I can get out of it, I will.” She said while
pulling her shirt over her still-wet tank top. The water spots soaked
through almost immediately, doing nothing for the fragile sense of
control I was trying to hang on to.
    “I was going to go home and
work on plotting a new story that's been running through my head, but
you're more than a little distracting.” I grasped the hem of her
shirt and pulled her back to me.
    She darted around me on a
giggle before swiping her shoes from the dirt and backing away from
me, a devilish glint in her dark eyes. “Hands off in public.” She
chastised with her index finger.
    “Such a distraction.” I
shook my head, a grin splitting my face. Her smile deepened before
she finally swiveled and jogged back the way we'd come from, barefoot
and carefree the entire way.
    I threw my shirt over my head
and walked up the river bank feeling like I'd fallen into a
never-never land where kissing a student felt as natural as
breathing. Except this wasn’t just any student, this was Auburn.

five
    I
found myself still awake at eleven pm that night. Being awake at that
time wasn’t unusual, but being so fucking mentally blocked I could
hardly function was. I'd done some outlining for a new novel and
tried to write a few paragraphs in the story I’d been writing about
my boyhood in northern Michigan. It was something I'd been working on
the last few years. I never seriously intended to publish it, it was
just too personal, my life’s work, and I wasn't willing to send it
out