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CHAPTER FOUR

BAD DECISIONS TASTE BETTER.

ISLA

“Fuck Asher’s rules.”

Those were the last words that left his mouth, and those words shouldn’t have done what they did to me.

They shouldn’t have sent a reckless pulse through my chest or made my fingers curl against Rowan’s shirt like I was anchoring myself to him. They shouldn’t have made me forget—just for a second—that this was dangerous, and the moment I let his soft lips touch mine, there was no going back.

But they did.

The moment Rowan's lips claimed mine, all sense of reasoning flew out the window. My fingers instinctively found his hair, and I was pulling him closer into me.

His hands snaked around my waist, pulling me into him like I was a second skin, one hand slipping down and cupping my ass.

Oh God…

A shameless moan racked through my chest and into the kiss as his touch sent shock waves through every nerve in my body. Butterflies flew endlessly in the pits of my stomach, my ears tingled, and something warm and wet slipped out from between my legs and wet my panties.

Isla, stop!

My mind called out to me, but my body betrayed me shamelessly. His hands slid down and rested on my hips, and in one move, he lifted me. My legs wrapped around his waist as he backed me harder into the door, his lips moving dangerously against mine.

His teeth sank into my lower lip, and the little pain made me gasp, giving him just enough room for him to delve his tongue into my mouth. His tongue roamed the corners of my mouth, looking for a perfect place to rest, but found none before it engaged in a battle with my own tongue.

I could feel something hard press against my throbbing warmth, and that sparked more intensity in my brain, and his kisses became sloppier.

And just when my fingers were tugging his hair harder and I had damned all the consequences in my head, Rowan stopped. Actually stopped.

He froze so suddenly it felt like the air shifted with him. His jaw tightened and his eyes darkened. And you didn't need a sorcerer to know they were darkened not with lust, but with restraint. It was clear he was holding something feral back.

He swore under his breath and dropped me before stepping away and dragging his hands from my waist like it physically hurt him to do it.

“Fuck,” he muttered, turning his back to me and scrubbing a hand down his face. “This is a bad idea.”

I laughed weakly, my heart still racing and my lips swollen from the heat of the moment. “You’re just realizing that?”

He turned back, slower this time, those chaotic grey eyes boring into me again.

Those eyes would be the beginning of my destruction…

“I realized it the first time I looked at you. I just didn’t think I’d lose my damn mind over it.”

He sounded frustrated, but his words did something to me, something quiet and heavy.

“You should go,” he said hoarsely.

I stared at him, my chest aching in a way it had never ached before. “Rowan—”

“Go,” he repeated, avoiding my gaze. “Before I forget why I’m trying to be good.”

But I couldn't bring myself to move.

Seeing as I was reluctant to move, he stepped to the side and opened the door. And then he was gone. The door shut, and just like that, I was alone.

I stood there for a full minute, staring at the spot where he’d been, my body still buzzing like something dangerous had been carved into my skin. My lips felt warm, and my waist felt empty.

Idiot, Isla. Stupid! Naive! Emotional!

I fixed my dress, wiped the corners of my eyes, and straightened my spine. I stepped back into the party.

The music became loud again, and the party was still moving like my life had not become complicated by just a kiss. I grabbed another cup without caring what was in it and took a long sip.

I danced, just enough to lose myself in the movement, in the noise, and in the lie that tonight didn’t matter.

By the time I checked my phone, it was past midnight. There were a lot of unread messages and missed calls from Sonia. Great.

I slipped out of the frat house quietly, the night air cool against my overheated skin as I tried calling a cab. But no luck. I tried another one, and still nothing.

“Perfect,” I muttered as I began walking.

The streetlights were sparse, and the road was too quiet for comfort. My heels clicked softly against the pavement as I hugged my jacket closer, nerves beginning to creep in now that the adrenaline had faded.

Then headlights flashed behind me. I froze as a car slowed and rolled beside me. Every bad thought rushed in at once.

And the moment the window slid down, I jumped in fear.

“Jesus,” a familiar voice said. “Relax. I’m not about to kidnap you.”

Noah Bennett.

He leaned over the wheel, one arm draped casually, the other tapping the steering wheel, grinning like he hadn’t scared ten years off my life.

“Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” I snapped.

“Wow,” he said. “And here I was thinking I’d get a thank-you for not letting you get murdered.”

“I was fine,” I lied.

“At midnight. Alone. On this road?” He hummed. “Sure.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Are you coming from a party?” He asked, and when I nodded, there was an amusement on his face, the kind that came before “Oh, I didn't know Asher let you move around like that.”

“Don't even say what I think you're about to say.”

He raised his hands in surrender. “Get in, I’ll drop you off.”

I studied him for a moment before opening the door, and the moment I buckled in, he took off.

Fast.

“Are you insane?!” I grabbed my seatbelt instinctively.

He laughed carelessly. “Relax, North. I know this road.”

“You’re going to kill us.”

“Only a little,” he said cheerfully.

Despite myself, I laughed. He cracked jokes the whole drive, stupid ones, sarcastic ones, and ones that distracted me from how fast the city lights blurred past.

Somewhere between my third eye roll and realizing I haven't laughed as much as I did with him, we pulled up to my dorm.

“Wow,” I said dryly. “Thanks for not killing me.”

“Anytime,” he replied. “I try to keep my passengers alive.”

He threw me a wink and drove off. I had barely gotten my cheeks to relax when I turned and saw Asher standing in front of my dorm door.