Page 114 of Skate the Line

Her breath smells of whiskey, and my mouth waters to get a taste.

“Just focus on your breathing,” I remind her. “In and out.”

She nods once and slowly straightens to stand. I follow the action and tower over her. The apples of her cheeks are red, and those big brown eyes refuse to look at me.

Gently, I reach forward and place my hands onto her warm face. “Breathe,” I demand.

I inhale, wait for her to do the same, and then we both exhale at the same time.

We do this several times before she finally gets the nerve to look me in the eye.

I get lost.

There are so many things trapped behind those innocent eyes that I want to know.

“I’m going to be a born-again virgin for the rest of my life.”

I chuckle dryly. “A born-again virgin?”

Sunny’s brows fold in on themselves, and she pouts.

It’s fucking cute.

“All because thatboycouldn’t seal the deal?” I scoff and drop my hands from her face since she’s seemingly breathing better. “Try again, Sunshine. He doesn’t count.”

“It’s not him,” she hisses, crossing her arms. “It’s me!”

No, it’s that jackass who broke your trust in men.

I shake my head. Someone exits the bathroom, and I wait until they’re gone before leaning my arm on the wall above Sunny. I grip her chin and make her look at me. Her lips are slightly swollen, and I’m not sure if it’s because of the aggressive mauling that her dance partner gave her, or if it’s because she constantly nibbles on that bottom lip. “You don’t like your hands trapped.”

It was an obvious tell.

“If it were me, I would have pressed against the wall myself and let you lead. There wouldn’t have been any restraint to your hands because I would have wanted them to explore.”

Fuck, what am I saying?

Sunny’s shaky inhale catches my ear, and I hate that it makes me excited. Her eyes travel down to my mouth, and my dick twitches. I apparently used up all of my self-control for the night, because I can’t stop spilling my dirty little secrets.

“Then what?” she whispers, breaking the last of my restraint.

God damn, I am skating the line.

The hand on her chin loosens since I have her full attention. I drop it and wrap it around her waist, landing on the small of her back. I keep the pressure light, not wanting to set off alarm bells.

“The kiss would start off slow. Tedious.” My stomach burns. I should not be saying this.

I can blame it on the need to prove a point to her—that she’s not allowing herself to pick the right men to break her past experiences—but it’s a lie.

Sunny nods slowly, fully engaged.

“I’d wait for you to sweep your tongue in my mouth before I reciprocated.”

As if on cue, that devilish tongue slips out of her mouth and wets her bottom lip.

I swallow thickly. “Then I’d pull you in like this.” I spin and press against the wall quickly, bringing her flush against the front of me. Her two legs straddle one of mine, and a sweat breaks out against my neck.

I should take my own advice.

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