Phoenix: The Beauty in Between (A Beautiful Series Companion Novel) Read Online Free PDF Page B

to respond, my inexperience causes me to
pause occasionally in a bid to catch up. As I close my eyes, my
head spins, but I focus on his mouth, and the press of his body
against mine, and just feel.
    The sensations
rippling through me are amazing, the slick texture of his tongue
gliding over mine, the smoothness of his teeth as I run the tip of
my tongue over them, and the softness of his lips.
    We start to
sway together again, locked at the lips as our hands start to roam.
I’m loving the feel of the fabric of his shirt under my fingertips,
and the firm build of his chest as it presses against my soft
one.
    We stay like
this for, I don’t know how long, but eventually the music cuts out,
and the lights are turned on.
    Abruptly, he
breaks away from me and starts calling out. My ears are buzzing in
the absence of the music. But when Tahlia appears, leaning up
against the guy she was dancing with, I realise he was calling to
her.
    We all head out
to Jeff’s car, and I’m still feeling so wonderful that I don’t even
think about the guy getting in there with us. I don’t even think
about the fact that the house we arrive at, isn’t Tahlia’s house at
all.
    Tahlia leads
the guy she’s with into a room as soon as we get inside, leaving
Jeff and I on our own.
    “You still
feeling a little buzzed?” he asks, sitting down on the couch and
patting the seat next to him.
    “A little,” I
reply as I lower myself to sit where he indicated. I’m still
smiling. My face hurts, but I can’t seem to stop.
    “I should
probably apologise to you,” Jeff starts, creasing his brow as he
looks down at his hands, and twists the gold band that adorns his
thumb with his long fingers.
    “Oh, really.
Why?”
    “Because I
kissed you. A lot. I probably shouldn’t have done that.”
    “Why? Because
you’re older than me?”
    “Well, yeah,
and I was supposed to be looking out for you, and Tahlia. I wasn’t
supposed to be hooking up with a beautiful girl who is almost half
my age.”
    Blushing, I
shake my head, letting my curls fall over my face. “You’re not that
old.”
    “I am, Paige.
In five years’ time, our age difference wouldn’t matter. But right
now, it seems quite vast, don’t you think?” I bounce one of my
shoulders as I chew my lip, listening. He rubs his hand over his
face and head, then leans against the back of the couch, looking up
at the ceiling. “God, I’d bet if your father had any idea what
happened tonight, he’d hunt me down and hang me.”
    “I doubt that,”
I deadpan. “The man I thought was my father couldn’t care less what
I do. And I’ve never met my real one.”
    “What about
your mother? Does she care?”
    “No. She kicked
me out months ago.”
    His brow
furrows as he sits forward again and looks at me. “Are you serious?
They just kicked you out?” I nod. “What for?”
    “For being me,
I guess. I figure my mum had an affair, and I’m the result of it.
I’ve always been treated differently from my brother and sister. I
never felt wanted. Eventually, they just sent me away.” For some
reason, I feel comfortable with Jeff and tell him everything I’ve
been through so far. He sits quietly, listening to me as I
unload.
    “That’s pretty
messed up. Where are you staying now?”
    “On the couch
in Tahlia’s garage.”
    “Are you
serious?! No, no, no. That’s not cool.”
    “Well, what
else am I supposed to do? I don’t have any other family to stay
with, and I’ve stayed with every friend I can. I’m not entering the
system either. I don’t want to go into foster care, or a home, or
whatever-the-heck they do with girls my age.”
    “Paige, you
have other options.”
    “Oh yeah. Like
what?”
    He shifts where
he sits and turns to face me, taking my hand into his before he
meets my eyes. “You might not want to hear this. But, a girl who is
good in bed, will never be wanting for a place to sleep.”
    “What? No…I
don’t know about that,” I laugh, feeling slightly