Kimi's POV
I couldn't watch anymore. The sight of Kolton's hands on Zofia's perfect body was like acid in my veins.
I stood up abruptly from the lounge chair, startling Olive.
"I really need to go," I told her, my voice barely steady.
Before she could protest, I hurried back toward the house. I needed to escape this torture.
The party inside had grown even wilder. Bodies pressed together on the makeshift dance floor. The music pounded so loudly I could feel it in my chest.
I pushed through the crowd, desperate to find somewhere quiet. Somewhere I could collect myself before going home.
"Watch it, nerd!"
A drunk boy stumbled backward, his beer sloshing over the rim of his cup. The cold liquid splashed directly into my hair and down my face.
"Ugh, gross!" I gasped, shaking the sticky beer from my glasses.
The boy barely glanced at me before disappearing back into the crowd. No apology. No acknowledgment that he'd just dumped alcohol all over me.
Perfect. Just perfect.
Beer dripped down my neck and soaked into my oversized sweater. The smell was overwhelming in the packed room.
I needed to clean up. The downstairs bathroom would be occupied, and probably disgusting after hours of party use.
Bennett had mentioned there were other bathrooms upstairs. Maybe I could find somewhere private to wash the beer out of my hair.
I climbed the narrow staircase, grateful to escape the chaos below. The second floor was dimmer and quieter.
Several doors lined the hallway. Most were probably bedrooms that were off-limits.
But at the end of the hall, I spotted a door slightly ajar. Through the gap, I glimpsed white tiles.
A bathroom. And it looked empty.
I slipped inside and flicked the light switch. Nothing happened.
The bulb must be burned out. But enough light filtered in from the hallway for me to make out the basic layout.
A small vanity with a mirror. A toilet. A shower stall in the corner.
It would have to do.
I closed the door behind me and fumbled with the old, flimsy lock, hoping it would hold. Finally, some privacy.
In the dim light, I removed my thick glasses and set them carefully on the counter. Without them, the world became a soft blur.
I turned on the faucet and cupped cold water in my hands. The beer had made my hair sticky and gross.
As I leaned over the sink, rinsing the alcohol from my long brown hair, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.
Even in the shadows, I looked different without my glasses. My features seemed softer somehow. Less hidden.
For just a moment, I allowed myself to imagine what I might look like if I didn't hide behind my disguise.
The sound of the door opening made me freeze.
Had I not locked it properly?
I grabbed for my glasses, but my wet hands fumbled. They clattered onto the tile floor.
"Damn it," I whispered, dropping to my knees to search for them in the darkness.
Footsteps entered the bathroom. Heavy. Confident. Unmistakably male.
My heart hammered against my ribs. I was blind without my glasses, trapped on the floor of a dark bathroom.
"There you are."
The voice was deep. Rough with desire.
I knew that voice. It haunted my dreams and my nightmares.
Kolton.
Before I could speak, strong hands grabbed my arms and hauled me to my feet. My back slammed against the cold tile wall.
"I've been looking for you," he growled, his breath hot against my ear.
This couldn't be happening. He thought I was someone else. He had to.
"Kolton, wait—"
But my protest was cut off as he pressed his muscular body against mine, pinning me to the wall.
In the darkness, I was just a silhouette. Just another girl at a college party.
He couldn't see my face clearly. Couldn't recognize the "nerd" he'd humiliated downstairs.
His scent surrounded me. Pine and leather and something indefinably masculine. It made my head spin.
"You smell different," he murmured, sounding puzzled.
His nose brushed along my neck, inhaling deeply. A shiver ran down my spine at the intimate contact.
"Different how?" The question slipped out before I could stop it.
"Better." His voice was thick with confusion and arousal. "Much better than I expected."
I should tell him who I was. Should push him away and turn on the lights.
But I was frozen, trapped between terror and a shocking thrill.
This was Kolton Zachary. The man who'd called me pathetic just a little while ago.
And now he was pressed against me in the darkness, his hands gripping my waist possessively.
"Zofia," he whispered against my throat.
Zofia. Of course. He thought I was the blonde goddess from the pool.
I should correct him. But the words wouldn't come.
His lips brushed the sensitive skin below my ear. "You drive me crazy, you know that?"
My knees nearly buckled. Kolton Zachary's mouth was on my skin, whispering words of desire.
Even if they weren't meant for me.
His hands slid up my sides, and I gasped at the contact. Through my thin, wet sweater, I could feel the heat of his palms.
"God, you feel good," he groaned.
This was madness. Complete insanity.
But I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't think beyond the sensation of his powerful body surrounding me.
His lips found the curve of my jaw. Then my cheek.
And then, without warning, his mouth crashed down on mine.
My first kiss.
It was nothing like I'd imagined in my romantic fantasies. This wasn't gentle or sweet.
It was raw. Demanding. Overwhelming.
Kolton's lips moved against mine with hungry desperation. His tongue swept across my lower lip, seeking entrance.
I'd never been kissed before. Had no idea what to do.
But my body seemed to know instinctively. My lips parted for him, and he groaned with approval.
The sound sent heat flooding through my veins. I felt dizzy, intoxicated by more than just his scent.
This was Kolton. My secret crush. My tormentor.
And he was kissing me like I was the most desirable woman in the world.
Even if he didn't know it was me.
His hands tangled in my damp hair, angling my head to deepen the kiss. The movement was possessive, claiming.
I whimpered against his mouth, the sound lost in his passionate assault.
This was wrong. So wrong.
But it felt like destiny.
Like everything in my life had led to this moment in the darkness with him.
His tongue swept into my mouth, and I nearly collapsed from the intensity. Stars exploded behind my closed eyelids.
I'd never felt anything like this. Never imagined a kiss could be so consuming.
My hands, which had been pressed flat against the wall, seemed to move of their own accord.
They found his chest, feeling the hard muscle beneath his shirt.
Kolton groaned and pressed closer, trapping my hands between us.
The kiss grew more desperate. More demanding.
I was drowning in sensation. In the taste of him. The feel of his body against mine.
This was everything I'd dreamed of and nothing like I'd expected.
He was fire and danger and overwhelming masculinity.
And for this stolen moment in the darkness, he was mine.
Kolton's hands gripped my face, holding me still as he deepened the kiss even further.
The intensity left me gasping, completely overwhelmed by sensations I'd never experienced before.