Page 82 of How You See Me
“Of course. Your hugs are your third-best quality, and I needed one.”
“Third? What’s second?”
Pink instantly appears on her cheeks. “Your kiss is a close second behind your heart.”
“Hmm. I’m good with that.” Placing a hand on her hip, I lean in to kiss her cheek. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome . . . for what?”
“For forgiving me when I didn’t earn it.”
Before she can respond with her unwavering belief in me, making it worse, I spin her and point her toward the bathroom.
???
She’s already under the blanket when I step back into the room. The lights are low, only a small lamp on the bedside table glows, casting the room in a honey-gold warmth. She tracks me as I move, her eyes heavy with drowsiness . . . or maybe something more dangerous.
I toss the towel aside and rub at the back of my neck. Tension burrows deep between my shoulder blades, the kind that even a five-mile sprint couldn’t touch.
“You okay?” she asks for the second time tonight.
I’m standing three feet away from a woman I’ve been trying like hell not to fall for, about to climb into a bed with her. No. I’m not okay.
Not wanting to lie for the second time tonight, I toss the blanket back. She shifts to make space for me, letting me get by without answering. No doubt she can sense the truth.
As my body hits the mattress, my mind takes off—spinning through every memory I’ve stored of her and wondering how I’m going to keep from making more.
Listening to the innocent songs of crickets chirping outside, my fingers twitch on top of the blanket, aching to reach for her.
I shouldn’t. I really, really shouldn’t.
Then, she takes the decision out of my hands and rolls toward me, resting her hand on my chest.
From that one touch, my entire body comes alive.
She’s so close I can feel her exhales on my neck, bringing my thoughts back to her kissable lips.
Iwantto kiss her again.
A tilt of my head could end this torture.
Maybe one will be enough.
I lean in and she welcomes the idea, but we both move as if the bed might implode if we go too fast. The first touchis teasing at first—barely anything. But the second her tongue brushes mine, my flimsy restraint vanishes.
Pushing up to an elbow, my other hand frames her jaw, thumb brushing her cheekbone to find a better angle. Her fingers clutch and twist my shirt, demanding. I want to give her that. Pin her beneath me. Taste every sound she makes and bury myself in her until nothing else exists.
But I stop.
Not because I don’t want her. God, I’ve never craved anyone more. But Ihaveto stop. The timing isn’t right. Convenient, yes, but all wrong in our new situation.
Her forehead rests against mine, eyes closed, breaths coming faster than they were a moment ago.
“You’re hard to resist,” I murmur.
“No one said you have to.”
“I did.”
