Page 60 of Starcrossed Colorado

And I didn’t actually want her to go yet.

“Play something for me?” I asked softly.

For some reason, I was holding my breath.

She went to the keyboard, removed the cover, and switched it on. I drifted closer as she sat at the bench and played a few notes. It sounded exactly like a real piano rather than an electronic instrument. Fancy.

I couldn’t tell if she was warming up or searching for some melody. She stopped and started, shaking her head a few times, before her fingers began to move swiftly across the keys.

I was not ready for it.

My feet carried me toward her until I was standing at her shoulder, watching her fingers gracefully move. At the same time, her body swayed and her head nodded, like she was playing with her entire being.

I didn’t know the words to describe what I was hearing, except things likejaw-dropping.Heart-stopping. The fact that it was Emma playing these notes in my training room just made it more surreal.

It was over too soon. When she stopped, I just stood there dumbstruck.

She turned and looked up. “What did you think?”

Emma’s spine was straight, head high, but I saw vulnerability in her eyes. Like she didn’t know what I was going to say and my uninformed opinion was somehow important.

“That was…wow.” I straddled the bench, facing her. “What was that called? Who wrote it?”

“It doesn’t have a name yet. AndIwrote it. I’ve been trying to figure it out for a few weeks, but it suddenly came together. You liked it?”

I still didn’t have words that would do justice to what I’d heard.

Or words that would doEmmajustice.

She was so far out of my league.

This incredible woman who I had tried so damn hard not to care about. But then she went about her day, stealing my breath again and again just by existing. A man was only so strong.

I reached out to tuck a stray lock of hair behind her ear. She didn’t pull away.

Fuck it, I thought.

I leaned forward and brushed my lips against hers.

She made a small, shocked sound. But her fist grabbed hold of my T-shirt, keeping me close instead of knocking me off the bench.

So far, so good.

I eased my mouth onto hers again. Slow, sensuous. Even though I wanted everything and I wanted itnow. This was something I shouldn’t rush.

If I was going to have her, then I planned to be thorough about it.

Her lips pressed back, sliding against mine in a gentle exploration. Emma’s breath hitched. I felt the soft nudge of her tongue. I groaned, opening up to meet her tongue with mine. She tasted sweet. Like never-ending summer.

One of my hands went to her waist, the other to the back of her head where I lightly gripped the root of her ponytail.

Then came the unwelcome sound of a door opening, of voices. Emma wrenched away from me. I caught her wrist before she could get up. “Wait,” I whispered. “Please.”

Emma stared at me, uncertainty written on her face. I heard my brother out in the lobby, along with Maisie. But the door to the training room was closed.

Callum and Maisie headed upstairs to the apartment. The sound of their footsteps receded.

I scooted closer and cupped the side of Emma’s neck. My thumb traced up and down her rapid-fire pulse. Her chest lifted and fell as she breathed.

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