Page 60 of Frosting and Flames

I’m mostly silent on the way back to my house, staring out the window thinking everything over. I haven’t felt attraction like this in forever.

Attractionis the word I’ve been searching for all this time. That sudden tension back in high school when I sensed his gaze on me. The restlessness that’s been growing inside me for the past month as we’ve danced around each other, first figuratively and now literally.

Sydney telling me I’ve always been weird around him.

Jae saying Nick couldn’t take his eyes off me.

I squeeze my eyes shut. I’m not ready for this. It still feels like what happened between me and Kyle was yesterday, instead of six months ago. How stupid I felt. How betrayed.

And opening myself up to someone again… I don’t know if I can do it. Not so soon, at least. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice? That’s all on me. And I never want to be that naive again.

But what am I supposed to do? Never live my life because one guy was a jackass to me?

The truck shuts off and I realize we’re in my driveway. Wow, talk about getting lost in my thoughts.

“Are we still pranking Kyle?” Nick asks, looking over at me.

I still haven’t heard anything from Kyle since that first time Nick visited my house. I have no idea if he’s seen the footage, if it’s even affecting him. But something in me is compelled to say, “Yes. If you don’t mind.”

I savor the crinkles around his eyes as he grins. “You want to follow my lead?”

I search his face, taking in the warmth of his brown eyes, his easy smile, his strong jaw. Would it be so terrible to open my heart a little to this man? Just to see what happens?

Nodding, I exit the truck and follow him up the porch steps, my heart thumping loudly in my chest. He’s angled within view of the doorbell and doesn’t move to block it when I join him.

“I had a great time at dinner.”

Oh, is that our cover story? We’ve been on a dinner date this whole time? “Me, too,” I murmur, going along with it.

“I’ve been thinking about getting you alone all night.”

His gaze flicks down to my mouth for a moment, and my breath hitches. “Yeah?” I can’t disguise the hopeful note in my voice. That part of me that wishes he wasn’t acting is alive and kicking. “What were you thinking of specifically?”

I swear his eyes darken, the rich brown swallowed by shadow, leaving them nearly onyx. It’s not only the porch lighting, it’s the steady way he’s looking at me, the air thick with intent. My pulse kicks as the weight of his gaze settles over me, turning molten.

He moves toward me, and I sway forward, drawn in to his gravitational pull. If I get too close, I might fall right in.

“Touching you,” he murmurs, his hand coming up to tuck the loose wisps of my hair behind my ear. His thumb travels down, sliding slowly over my jaw, then my lips. “Kissing you.”

Tension coils tight in my chest, wanting to close the distance between us, to just let it happen and see if his lips are as warm and sure as his hand was in mine earlier.

I can’t deny what’s written all over his face. He’s dying to kiss me. But is it acting? Or real?

“Please,” I whisper, and the request barely leaves my lips before he’s kissing me like he’s starved, his hand cupping my jaw, keeping me in place while his mouth moves greedily over mine.

Oh God, that’s good. There’s a buzzing in my veins, lighting me up from the inside out. As if this isn’t only a kiss, but an unraveling, a flame catching after smoldering for far too long.

His hands settle at my waist, firm and sure, the warmth of his touch sending a shiver up my spine in the most delicious way possible. He kisses me like he can’t get enough, like something he’s wanted for a long time, and the realization sends my heart hammering against my ribs. I don’t think I was the only one feeling the attraction all this time.

A car honks in the distance, and it’s enough to break us apart, but only a fraction. His forehead rests against mine and I feel like we just ran a marathon with the way we’re both panting.

“Come inside?” I say, not sure if it’s a question or command, but he nods, his uneven breaths tickling the back of my neck as I turn and unlock the front door.

When the door shuts and we’re out of sight and hearing of any cameras, I ask him, “Was that kiss for real?”

He’s silent, gaze flicking over me. It’s as if he’s waging some internal war, emotions playing out over his face until he simply says, “Yes.”

I nod and reach for him, loving the way he groans my name before he takes my mouth again, his head tilting, deepening the kiss. I’m dazed, a hunger raging through me I can’t recall experiencing before. It feels like I haven’t been touched in forever.

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