Free Lie to Me (A Touched Trilogy) by Angela Fristoe Page B

and little shivers ran up my
arms. I pressed closer to him, loving the way his hard chest felt against mine.
His hands dropped from my face, slid down my ribs, and wrapped around my waist
until they came to rest at the base of my spine.
    The flirty side of me wanted to reach back and drag his
hands lower, but his words from earlier had stuck and I knew that I had to let
him make the move no matter how frustrating it was to wait. I curled my fingers
around the back of his neck and tangled them in his hair. Trying to catch my
breath, I drew back, pulling in deep breaths that mingled with his until his
lips followed mine. The tip of his tongue swept across the seam of my lips and
I sighed. God, he tasted as good as he smelled. It wasn’t fair that I’d missed
out on a whole year of this.
    Finally, we broke apart and he leaned his forehead against
mine, placing a gentle kiss at the corner of my mouth.
    “Wow,” he said. “Why the hell did I wait so long?”
    The words were innocent, but they stung, nonetheless. It had
been his choice to wait this long. He’d chosen Vivian over this. Over me. I
tried brushing it off. Wasn’t I getting him now? Wasn’t that what was really
important? Brushing it off didn’t work.
    I dropped my hands and stepped back so I wasn’t touching
him. The feel of him was way too tempting and I knew there was something I
should remember. “Lily.” She and Dylan were waiting for us. I abruptly turned
and headed for my car. Behind me, I could feel Nathan watching for a moment
before he sprinted after me.
    “What was that about?” he asked when he caught up to me.
    “What?” I gave him a sideways confused look, while somehow
managing to avoid any real eye contact. No way would I admit again that I was
still hurt by him turning me down. I would just play dumb. But how long could I
keep it up for? It didn’t seem too hard for Vivian. Then again, I doubted she
was playing.
    “The taking off thing, what else?” It was hard to read his
face in the darkness, but he sounded angry and more than a little confused.
Another illuminating flash of purple in the sky revealed I was right. Not
exactly the reaction I was going for. Dumb obviously wasn’t going to work, so
flirty was my next best option.
    “You wanted to do the chasing, so I’m letting you.” I smiled
and found that it didn’t feel as forced as I expected.
    “Don’t do this, Phoebe.” He grabbed my hand and gently
pulled me to a stop. “I don’t know what I said to piss you off, but don’t start
with the games again.”
    I sighed. “Okay. Then let’s just say I don’t want to talk
about it. Let’s go. Lily and Dylan are probably wondering where we are.”
    This time when I walked away, he kept his grasp on me and we
ended up walking hand in hand. There was something really sweet about that
simple action that I’d never considered. I’d dated a few guys over the past
year - just because I’d wanted Nathan didn’t mean I’d been a complete monk, or
whatever they call female monks - but never anyone I liked as much as Nathan.
Holding hands had always felt awkward and the touch of sweaty palms just didn’t
do anything for me. But this was different. This was Nathan and I couldn’t feel
anything other than the soft glide of his skin against mine.
    Turning the corner was all it took to bring back reality.
Under the streetlight, Dylan leaned against the hood of my car, Lily standing
before him, his hand clutched between hers. She was working her magic.
    Dylan’s face was devoid of pain, relief sagging his
shoulders. Lily, though, was beyond pale. Even from three houses down I could
see her shaking, the grey tinge to her complexion.
    “Lily!” I cried out, rushing forward, Nathan forgotten as I
watched my sister crumple. Dylan tried to hold her up, but the drinks he’d
consumed showed in his lack of balance, and she hit the grass lining the
roadway.
    I reached her side as she struggled to sit up. I sank to my
knees and lifted