Page 118 of Skate the Line

I laugh nervously. “I wish.”

Then maybe I wouldn’t be standing in his kitchen with a fire brewing in my stomach.

It’s so quiet in the house. It seems like the entire world is asleep, except for Rhodes and me.

My heart races, and my pulse thrums painfully fast.

Rhodes takes another step toward me, but this time, I don’t step away.

I tilt my chin the closer he gets, like I’m trying to prove a point.

To myself or him.

I’m not entirely sure yet.

He slowly raises the back of his hand. I stare up at him. My lips part with our close proximity. It’s not often that we’rethisclose. He is freshly showered with damp hair that smells spicy.

I inhale.

Then I stop breathing altogether when his knuckles gently brush my cheek.

My knees grow weak. I lean backward and try to shake myself out of the spell I’m under.

What the hell is wrong with me?

Rhodes winds his arm around my lower back to hold me upright. His fingers sweep against my hip, and I sway.

“Are you sure you’re okay? I don’t think you have a fever, but you’re warm to the touch.” He leans in closer, and those green eyes move back and forth between mine.

I can’t take it.

“I’m not okay!” I scramble away and push his hands in the process.

He lets go right away with a flexed jaw. I lean farther against the counter, putting distance between us.

“Is this because of earlier?” His voice is low and gravelly. It does nothing but make me sweat more.

“Yes!” I turn and put my back to him.

A few beats of silence are shared between us. I try to calm my racing heart and push away the thoughts that are zipping through my head. I search for the guilt that should come with the arousal I feel when I look at Rhodes, but it’s buried beneath several months of dormancy.

Without looking, I know he moves closer. His warmth brushes against my neck, and I inhale.

“There’s nothing wrong with what happened earlier. It was a normal reaction after what happened to you.”

If only he knew I was upstairs in bed, thinking abouthishands on me.

“You aren’t going to be a born-again virgin, Sunny.” He chuckles, and that’s when I realize he has noidea that I’m acting this way because of him.Not because of my freak-out over Simon.

A sarcastic laugh leaves me. I turn and peer over my shoulder. He gazes at me, scrutinizing my behavior.

“You don’t get it.” I turn all the way around and press against the sharp edge of the counter.

How can someone make confusion look so hot?

His gaze roams my face, like he’s searching for an answer.

“I’m not acting this way because of Simon,” I say.

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