Page 119 of Into These Eyes
“Morning,” he says, his voice an octave or two lower than usual, sending heat curling between my legs.Jesus. This early in the morning? I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. I never finished what I started last night.
Holding up a finger, I plaster on a stern, warning glare. “Do notsay a word.”
He tilts his head, acting as if he has no idea what I’m talking about.
“In fact,” I add, “don’t even look at me. Just … move.”
As I stalk toward the coffee machine, he drops his gaze, shuffles a mere foot to the side, and leans a hip against the counter. I refuse to look at him. If he pins me with those gleeful blue eyes, he’ll have me blushing to my roots with the dirty thoughts I’m sure are swirling around in his head.
Placing my phone on the other side of the coffee machine, I grab my mug and set it in place. He’s so damn close, I feel the heat radiating off his body. Usually I’d find some accidentally-on-purpose way to touch or brush up against him, but that’s not happening this morning.
No. Fucking. Way.
Pressing the long-coffee button, the machine fires up, filling the kitchen with the sound of grinding beans.
As I wait, the air crackles with a new tension that hasn’t been present during our other mornings. I’m not sure if it’s me or him. Or both of us. What I do know is that if I touch him, there’ll be a reaction this time. And that’s terrifying. And way too exciting.
Work. That’s what I need to focus on. Get to work. Concentrate on the job. Don’t think about tonight.
I grind my teeth at his unmoveable presence by my side. Not that there’s anything different about that. But today I won’t touch his back or arm as I reach for a spoon. Instead, I take a wide arc around him to get to the cutlery drawer.
When I reach for the handle, he’s suddenly behind me. His chest presses against my back, his corded forearms caging me in as he places his hands on the counter.
Oh God.
The way he’s surrounding me jolts me like a defibrillator. But instead of shocking my heart back into a steady rhythm, he’s knocked it completely out of sync.
Minty breath washes over me as he leans closer, his mouth grazing my ear.
“Donotshut me out,” he growls.
Chapter 34
Gavin
Apart from her initial jolt when I caged her in, Jamie’s completely frozen. When the coffee machine falls silent, I can almost hear the thunderous beating of our hearts.
Although she shouldn’t be embarrassed about last night, I knew she would be, knew she’d try to avoid me by leaving for work early, so I made sure that didn’t happen. But the moment she skirted around me to get to the cutlery drawer, I knew she was withholding her usual touch.
Well, fuck that.
Ilivefor her touch, no matter how brief or impersonal.
Circling her wrists, I force her to release the death grip she has on the edge of the counter and place her palms flat against the cool stone. Then I hold her there, my hands on top of hers, our bare arms brushing with every inhale and exhale, sending sparks of desire crashing through my body.
She probably thinks this is about what I burst in on last night. Okay, so that had left me with all sorts of wicked images of her pleasuring herself, and all the dirty things I’d like to do to her with that pink toy. Not to mention how she almost undid me with those husky little groans and words of praise when I’d massaged her. But those aren’t the things on my mind right now.
That kiss.
It might not have had anything to do with romance or passion, but it communicated something much deeper. A silent contract that saidI want you in my personal space. I want your touch.
She crossed a line last night. A line, I suppose, that’s been blurred since we first held each other in the caravan.
Now that I truly know who she is, now that I’ve accepted how deeply I’ve fallen for her, I’m almost certain she feels the same way. But I’m done with wondering. I want confirmation before she leaves this house.
Holding onto every ounce of self-control, I murmur, “You kissed me last night.”
“Yes.” She exhales without hesitation. Owning it. Surprising me. Spurring me on as her intoxicating scent curls into every breath I take. She smells like a cozy afternoon nap and everything that’s uniquely her.
