Page 51 of Known By You
His smile cracked through the serious, hooded expression like the first beams of sunrise. “Only a little.”
I bit my lip, but it did nothing to hide my answering grin.
His gaze dropped to my mouth, and he swayed forward, but then he let go of me and forced his head back dramatically. “I don’t think I can stand there anymore.”
Knowing he was as addled as I was gave me boldness I wouldn’t have imagined after what’d felt like a total failure last night. He’d done the work to reassure me and I believed him.
Because of this, I asked, “Why not?”
His gaze shot to mine, and he narrowed his eyes. “I think you know.”
My eyes widened, all innocence, and I pressed. “But why not? It was just a little kiss.”
Heat flared in his stunning blue irises and he stalked forward, shoving between my legs and resting his hands on the cabinet behind me, thoroughly caging me in.
Wellhello. The tattoos had struck me as surprisingly bad boy for this sweet, sensitive man, but I was getting a hint of a new dimension. That kiss, and now this rough, barely leashed energy from him, was more than a little thrilling.
His gaze was dark and full of promise. “Yes. Just a tiny, harmless kiss.”
I lifted my chin, positioning my lips a breath from his. “Completely harmless.”
He shook his head slowly, brushing his mouth over mine once, twice, then pulling back.
“Stay for dinner?”
“Sure.” I didn’t have to think about it. There wasn’t anywhere else I wanted to be. And if I hung around, maybe he’d kiss me again.
He didn’t kiss me again.
Not until hours later, after we’d eaten a meal he’d cooked for us, then watched a movie in his cozy living room with a sleeping kitten snuggled on the couch between us. Not until I’d stepped outside his door, certain he was goingto let me go without talking about the kiss, or what it meant, or what came next.
I was certain right up until he grabbed my hand and tugged, pulling me back toward him and sinking his hands into my hair with so much stabled hunger, I couldn’t imagine how I’d not felt it coming. He kissed me so thoroughly, I saw stars when he pulled back a few minutes later and it had nothing to do with the pitch-dark sky.
“Buy you a donut tomorrow before work?” he asked, releasing my hair but pinching my chin lightly before letting me go completely.
“Sounds good,” I managed, amazed I could sound at all composed after the unraveling he’d just done.
“Good. Zero-eight. See you there.”
So at seven-forty-five, I left the house and two minutes later ducked into the shop to find Elise sliding a fresh batch of donuts into the display case.
“Well, hello there. Back for more donuts already?” She grinned.
“They are delicious. But actually, this was Kenny’s doing. I’m meeting him here in a few minutes.”
Her smile widened. “Oh. Well. Very nice.” She wiggled her brows.
Discomfort hit at the knowledge that she assumed we were dating or together or at least interested in each other. But then… weren’t we?
My shoulders deflated at the unavoidable reality that I didn’t know. And no matter what he thought, or even what I thought, we didn’t have a future.
“Hmm. That wasn’t the response I anticipated.” Her gaze sharpened and slid over me as though checking for something, but when I blinked it was gone. “On another note, are you coming to book club?”
“Is that Saturday? Jo mentioned it again, so I’ve been thinking about it.”
She’d actually texted me every day and had left me a paperback copy at my apartment door a few days after I’d arrived. I had read the book eagerly since the club focused on romance reads and I’d enjoyed the genre a great deal.
“Yes. We’ll have wine and appetizers and even if you haven’t read, it’s fun. I’ve missed finishing the book a few times and it’s still great. The weeks I can’t make it just kill me.” Her smile flickered and fell.
