And my whole body suddenly felt alive. It was so much like the way the kiss thief had captured my hands so I couldn’t touch him. But we weren’t in a dark closet right now. And I could touch Jacob all I wanted because I still had one free hand. I reached up and put my hand on his chest.

I did everything in my power not to grab hold of his shirt and pull him closer. I wanted him to kiss me. That’s how I pictured my first kiss in my head. And I wasn’t messing up my first kiss do-over.

He glanced over my shoulder.

I knew his family was only one room away. But all I wanted was for Jacob to kiss me the way he had in those closets. Like I was his whole world. Like he’d been waiting a lifetime. Like I was the only sustenance he needed.

Jacob’s eyes fell back to me and he leaned forward. He towered over me. “You really are bite-sized.”

My heart beat even faster. I remembered him calling me that outside the school. I’d been upset that I’d gotten my high heels confiscated. But he’d said he preferred me like this. Bite-sized. I smiled. “Then maybe you should bite.” I couldn’t even believe I’d just said that out loud.

“Oh, trust me, I’m about to.” He ran the tip of his nose down the length of mine, smearing the icing.

I laughed. But I barely made a sound because his lips slammed against mine.

I felt my fingers tightening on his shirt. Pulling him closer now that he had already made the first move.

I’d been desperate for another kiss since he’d pulled me into the snake-infested closet. I’d been desperate for anything he’d give me. Because if I was being honest with myself, I’d been falling for the kiss thief ever since that first kiss. He’d completely captivated my mind. Every touch. Every text. Every night when I closed my eyes and thought of him. He’d somehow taken over my mind even though I’d never seen his face.

I parted my lips to deepen the kiss.

Just as my phone buzzed in my pocket.

But I already knew who it was.

My kiss thief.

Because the kiss was all wrong. My kiss thief was definitely not Jacob.

Oh screw me.

* * *

What is Scarlett going to do about Jacob not being her kiss thief?  Or is she wrong?!  Seriously, who IS her kiss thief?  Find out in Scarlett and the Fake Boyfriend, coming July 24th.  Click here to pre-order your copy so you don’t miss it!

And while you wait, you don’t have to leave Empire High. Because once upon a time, Daddy James and Aunt Brooklyn and all Scarlett’s uncles went there. And they were VERY misbehaved…