Page 55 of Burning Hearts
And yet still, somehow, that made my insides tilt.
“Hey,” he said, and somehow it sounded like we’d already agreed to something.
“Hey,” I managed, my voice not nearly as calm as his.
He stepped in and I closed the door behind him.
Neighbors, I thought.
It sounded less like a joke and more like a line we were about to cross.
We didn’t rush. I watched him take in the room. The tray of water I’d set out like I was performing adulthood. The curtains pulled just enough to keep the city from watching. And the jacket I’d thrown over a chair.
Cade’s mouth did that not-quite smile it does.
“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you,” Cade said, fire in his eyes. “I’ve wanted to touch you since the moment I looked up at you on the suite balcony.”
I’d had no idea he’d seen me on the balcony that first night.
“You, uh, wanted to touch me?” I asked. “Am I the first guy you’ve ever… been interested in?”
I wasn’t sure how to phrase it.
“Yes.”
“Oh,” I said, leaning back, trying to look casual. “I would completely understand if you needed time to work that out. How you feel about me, or how you feel about men in general. I know it’s a lot to process at once, coming to terms with your?—”
“I want to touch you,” he said again. “Can I kiss you, Ellis?”
I nodded my head.
“You sure?” he asked carefully.
“Yes,” I said, struggling to breathe. And then, because it felt necessary, “Are you?”
Something in his shoulders let go.
“I’m here,” he said. “I’m sure.”
“Good,” I replied, and quickly closed the space between us.
The first contact was mine. My hands on his lapels, his on my hips. He was warm and distinctly real. I had the dizzying thought that losing a prize in public had somehow led to winning this private one.
It felt both ridiculous and true.
Cade kissed me—firm, sure. With the smallest pause at the edge, like he was double-checking permission. I’d already given it.
The second kiss forgot careful, the third dragged a low sound out of my throat.
We got rid of his jacket, then the tie. Our hands found each other like they’d been waiting all week. His palm slid up my back and locked around where my breath lived.
I swore softly into his mouth.
Cade smiled against my mouth like a man marking a win.
And I… didn’t mind being the win.
Fuck.
