Page 32 of The Lightkeeper

The drawings weren’t for her. And I most definitely hadn’t labored over them because she’d lamented about her lack of illustration skills when it came to her research paper.

She pushed her glasses higher on her nose, the movement lifting my sweatshirt and revealing another inch or so of thick, creamy thigh.Goddamn, I wanted to feel those legs wrapped around my neck.

“Oh.” Her smile flickered. “I’d love to see them there. If you wanted to host an event, I could even explain to everyone about each of the species and what’s special about them?—”

“I don’t do events,” I said and drained what was left of the coffee in my cup.

“Of course.”Her mouth snapped shut. “Can I have some coffee?”

I looked over at the coffeepot. There was plenty left. The only problem was what was in my hand;I only had one mug.

There were acatastrophicnumber of reasons why I should’ve said no. Apologized for not having another mug. And put an end to the conversation. Instead, I looked at her and said, “If you’re okay drinking from my mug.”

The smile on her face imprinted in my mind as I went to thesink to wash out the last drops from my cup and then refilled it with fresh coffee.

Our fingers brushed as I handed her the mug. Sparks flew from the contact, reminding me why she was dangerous. The things she made me feel—the intensity of them—was like pure voltage through a live wire. No shield. No grounding. Pure, unadulterated electricity that would kill me just as surely as it could bring me back to life.

“Kit, about last night.”

Four little fucking words had the power of a bomb.

“A mistake. You were unwell. Fevered.” I cleared my throat.And I was a fool.

“Right, but I wasn’t entirely delusional.” She nudged her glasses higher and blinked twice. “I wanted you to kiss me.” As if to prove her point, I swore she sipped from the exact same spot on the mug that I had.

My breath whooshed out.Fuck, I couldn’t talk about this.Not so soon. Not with her half-dressed. Not with my dick completely hard.

“And I should’ve said no. It was a mistake.” I widened my stance. Anything to try and relieve the pressure on my cock.

“But it was really good, wasn’t it?” she asked earnestly. “I don’t have a lot of experience for comparison, but I don’t think kisses like that are normal, are they?”

“No.” The word fled my lips like a damned traitor.

“So don’t you think it’s something worth experimenting with more?”

Worth experimenting…I stared at her. She wasn’t being coy or flirtatious; she was being herself. Her open, blunt, heart-on-her-damned-sleeve self. And that was what weakened me. That kind of fucking honest innocence was as bright as a goddamn beacon that beckoned me from the shadows.

“Unless it wasn’t that good for you.” Like the flip of a switch, pink oozed into her cheeks. “Maybe it was the fever.”

I teetered on the edge of the truth, but in the end, a lie would be better.Her sunshine was no match for my storms.

“Probably was the fever,” I grunted and strode around her to avoid having to see the pain I knew would be written all over her pretty face. “I’ve got some errands to run. You should go back to your hotel. Rest. Recuperate.”

I grabbed my cylindrical carrying case that I’d put my sketches in earlier this morning and then pulled my jacket off the hook. When I glanced back, I saw Aurora hadn’t moved.

Dammit.

“Kit, do you live here?”

My breath whooshed out.Double dammit.I straightened and answered vaguely, “I stay here sometimes. It’s just easier.”

“But not since I’ve been here…” she inferred, moving toward me.

My jaw ticked. How this woman read me like one of her damn textbook specimens was infuriating. I wanted to be left alone. My life left in peace. My secrets left undisturbed. But at every turn, I only found her.

“I’m leaving. Don’t go near the water today,” I said roughly. There was still a chance of another storm in the forecast.

“Wait, Kit.” She rushed toward me, and I went rigid. The more I saw her in my damn sweatshirt, the harder it was going to be to forget the sight. “Lou invited me over to your mom’s house for dinner…”

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