Page 80 of Delay of Game

He’s right, of course, but I’m not sure how to respond, so I stay rooted to the spot.

“What were you thinking?” he asks with a deep sigh.

“I wasn’t. Clearly,” I mumble.

“There must have been a reason for it,” he prods, and I keep my gaze glued to his collarbone, where a silver necklace is stark against his brown skin.

“Al?”

“I was doing research,” I say, embarrassed that he found me in this situation and had to intervene because I clearly wasn’t looking out for myself.

“For what?”

“A new book I’m writing.”

“Hm,” he says as his pointer finger reaches for my chin and tilts my head up to meet his gaze. The look in his brown eyes is indecipherable and I don’t know if I want to lose myself in it or hide as fast as I can.

My feet stay planted to the floor, though, so I guess I’m not running. But is being so close to him really a good idea? I still don’t know how I feel about him being back in my life, even after our recent heart to heart. I swallow hard and Jordan lets go of my chin only to reach down, down, down.

What is he doing? Why am I not stopping him?

Just when I think he’ll pull me in, I feel his knuckles brush against the sliver of skin accessible through my corset. His deft fingers work quickly and when I look down, I see he’s tied my robe around my middle. The tops of my breasts are still showing, but the rest of me is decently covered.

I can feel the blush on my face spread over to my chest, and IknowJordan notices it as his eyes bounce over the spot.

“Did it help?”

“What?”

“The photoshoot. Did it help with your book?”

I shake my head, still entranced by his proximity. “No,” I whisper.

“Be careful next time,” he says, teeth grinding as he looks back at the door that Sam was kicked out through.

This time, I’m the one to reach out and take his face in my hands. Some of the tension in his body is gone and he lets me bring our foreheads close together. Our noses brush and I find myself saying, “There won’t be a next time if you help me finish it.”

* Lapsi = kid

* Helvetti = hell

CHAPTER 29

December

Jordan

I thinkmy brain stopped working because all I can do is stare down at Alice. For a moment, I’m lost in the cornflower blue of her eyes as I map the seemingly endless galaxy I see there. Her hands are soft but unwavering as they hold my head in place, our noses still brushing.

It takes almost too long for me to process what she just said.There won’t be a next time if you help me finish it.Fucking hell. How can I ever say no to this girl?

The self-doubt I struggle with creeps back in and I close my eyes tight, letting out a long exhale. I expect her to back away, take my reaction as a rejection, but she doesn’t move.

“J?” she asks, and I can’t believe how much I’ve missed her calling me by that silly nickname. The way she says it, tentative and raw, makes me think of our time at the cabin, when there was nothing else except for this—two bodies, two hearts, and nothing but time to explore each other.

But that’s in the past, and up until today I thought she was completely over me, or at least pretending to be. But right here and now, it feels like she might let me in again.

I open my eyes and Alice meets my gaze head on, no hesitation on her face.

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