Page 34 of Resting Beach Face
I waved a hand between us. “Obviously, there is something here. Between you and me.”
“There can’t be.”
“There already is.”
He shook his head, but his eyes didn’t leave mine.
“One kiss, Declan. What’s the harm? You’re leaving anyway, right? You’re selling this place and leaving town, so why not?”
He huffed a laugh. “You’re relentless, you know that?”
“I’m persistent,” I said. “Within reason. I won’t harass you. If you say no right now, then it’s no. But?—”
Declan leaned in suddenly, lips warm on mine.
It took me by surprise. I never expected him to give in. I grasped his shoulder, leaning into the kiss. Declan cupped my face, this thumb stroking along my cheekbone.
It was so fucking gentle I wanted to cry.
It’s a goodbye kiss.
I tensed, heart tumbling, and Declan pulled back. “Was that okay?”
“Yeah,” I rasped. “Better than okay.”
He shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips. “Hardly better than okay.”
“You want more?” I asked, leaning in. “You caught me by surprise, but I’m more than ready to blow your mind.”
Declan put his hand to my chest with a small chuckle. “No. That was exactly what I wanted.”
I paused, confused. “Okay.”
“I don’t want the same things you do,” he said gently. “That kiss was…perfect.”
“Then why did you say it wasn’t better than okay?”
“Foryou,” he stressed. “It was just okay for you.”
“Wrong,” I said. “The only thing I’d change about it is making it our first kiss instead of our last.”
He tilted his head. “It wouldn’t be enough, though. Not for long.”
I nibbled my bottom lip, the suspicion that Poppy was right growing in my mind. “You’re ace?”
“I haven’t really labeled it,” Declan said. “I suppose I might fall somewhere on that spectrum.”
I nodded. “So kissing but no sex?”
“I, uh…didn’t say that. It’s not really that cut-and-dried.”
“I can work with that.”
“No, you can’t,” Declan said. “Trust me. I’ve tried it with other guys.”
“Not with me.”
He rolled his eyes. “You’re so much worse.”
