Page 17 of Honkers Under the Holly

A quiet honk from the garden sounded suspiciously like approval.

I woke sometime in the night to find Sara Jayne had turned in my arms, her face now inches from mine. Moonlight filtered through the French doors, casting silver shadows across her features. One of her hands rested against my chest, right over my heart.

She must have felt my breathing change because her eyes fluttered open, meeting mine in the darkness. For a moment, neither of us moved.

“Hi,” she whispered.

“Hi.” My voice was rough with sleep.

Her fingers curled slightly against my t-shirt and her eyes sparkled in the night. “I meant what I said before. About this not feeling fake.”

I reached up to brush a strand of hair from her face, letting my fingers trail along her cheek. She leaned into the touch, and something in my chest tightened. Other parts of me below the belt tightened too.

“None of it feels fake,” I admitted. “Not since the day we met.”

She shifted closer, erasing the last inches between us. “Mac?”

“Hmm?”

“Kiss me?”

Thank fuck. I cupped her face in my hand and brought my lips to hers. This wasn’t like our previous kisses, playful after theparty, sweet during our goose adventures. This was slow, deep, full of everything we hadn’t been saying.

Sara Jayne made a soft sound and pressed closer, her hand sliding up to the nape of my neck. I traced the curve of her hip, then the dip at her waist, marveling at how perfectly she fit against me. When she gently bit my lower lip, I had to stifle a groan.

She pulled back just enough to meet my eyes, her breath warm against my lips. “I know this is all happening so fast...”

“Yeah,” I agreed, though I couldn’t stop my fingers from tracing patterns along the small of her back. God, I wanted her so badly.

“And we’re still just getting to know each other...”

“True.” I pressed a kiss to that spot below her ear that made her shiver.

“And we’re living in someone else’s house...”

“Also true.” My hands found their way under the hem of her pajama top, skimming the soft skin of her waist.

She arched into my touch. “So, we should probably take this slow.”

“Probably,” I murmured against her neck. I could make incredibly slow, sensual love to her if she wanted me to.

“Be responsible adults.”

“Absolutely.” I captured her lips again, and for a few long moments, being responsible was the last thing on either of our minds.

Finally, Sara Jayne pulled back, her chest rising and falling rapidly. “Mac?”

“Mm?”

“We’re not being very responsible.”

Dammit. I pressed my forehead to hers, trying to catch my breath. If she wanted to put on the breaks, that was entirely her choice. I wanted nothing but enthusiastic consent from her.While I was absolutely sure I could push and end up with her under me, giving her orgasm after orgasm, I would wait until she wanted that as much as I did. “No, we’re not.”

She traced my bottom lip with her thumb. “I want this to be real. All of it. Not just because we’re caught up in the moment or the pretense or?—”

I kissed her softly, cutting off her words. “I want it to be real too. That’s why I can wait.” I smoothed her hair back from her face. “We have time.”

She smiled that smile that had been undoing me since day one. “Six entire weeks.”

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