( when the stars forget us! ) ↳chapter thirty-three ↲
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━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ❝ I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO STOP YOU. YOUNEED TO STOP YOURSELF. ❞ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
A WEEK HAD PASSED since Talia had left Bella's home temporarily. She'd been staying at Emily's and Sam's place that started to feel like a new home. Everything here was warm. The house, the food, the people, everything. It gave her a feeling she missed a lot.
At the moment, Talia stood in front of the coolers, fingers grazing over bottles of juice and soda, debating between her favorites and what the others might like. The store was quiet, the hum of the fridge and soft pop music the only sounds. She hadn't expected to enjoy this little errand so much—the short walk, the fresh air, the time to herself.
She reached for a strawberry lemonade when suddenly—"Ahh!" she squealed as a pair of strong arms wrapped tightly around her waist from behind, pulling her back into a warm, familiar chest. The curve of her smile arrived before the shock fully passed.
"I knew that was you," came a low, teasing voice against the shell of her ear. Embry.
Her heart immediately settled into its favorite rhythm—him. "You scared me, you idiot," she breathed, biting back a giggle.
"I know," Embry chuckled, smug. "You squealed like a little mouse."
"I did not," she insisted, cheeks burning.
He pressed a slow kiss to the crook of her neck, then another just below her jawline, his lips warm and soft and maddening.
"Em," she warned, voice quiet but breathless. "We're in a store."
"Mmm," he hummed, dragging his lips along the line of her jaw. "That's never stopped me before."
Her knees nearly buckled when his hands shifted lower, fingers gliding over her hips with the barest hint of pressure—teasing, possessive, and barely restrained. Her body betrayed her, melting into his touch even as she lightly smacked his hands.
"You're lucky I like you," she whispered holding his arm tighter.
"Lucky?" he muttered, his voice gravelly now. "I'm blessed."
She tried to turn in his arms, but he held her tight, his mouth trailing kisses down the side of her neck to the exposed skin just above the hoodie's collar. His hands, wide and warm, slid from her waist to her hips, gripping her there like he didn't care who might walk by.
"Em," she breathed, her head tilting almost involuntarily to give him better access. "Seriously..."
But her words lacked conviction when his tongue traced just under her ear, then his teeth grazed the delicate spot at her collarbone, making her knees weaken.
