“But…” A rough swallow moves her delicate throat as she struggles. “You’re a stranger.”
When I touch her face, just brushing my thumb over the rise of her cheek to catch a tear, my heart catapults up ward.
Remember, I have to play this right. Which is why I tell her the truth.
Only the truth. Forever.
“You might not know me, but I’ve been watching you for months.”
FIVE
Celeste
The world tilts, my heart flipping over onto its side like a listing boat.
Maybe it’s overloaded with adrenaline. Maybe it will never be right again.
But seconds later, an ice-cold smack of reality hits me, a sucker punch to the stomach.
I was being watched.
Chilled from my head to my toes, I stare up at a stranger…
No, he’s not a stranger if he’s been watching me. He’s a stalker.
“Where…” I clear my throat before I can continue. “Have you been watching me?”
The question feels surreal. My voice floating somewhere outside my body.
Solemn eyes the color of whiskey hold mine as he lifts his hand slowly. I’m too frozen to draw back when he gently moves a knuckle along my cheek.
Burning a path, his touch acts like a fuse, rushing a spark toward the cold, broken place in my chest.
The impossibly tall stranger, dips his broad shoulders and rests his lips against mine, drawing on them gently.
“Christ. Your lips are so soft,” he whispers against my shocked mouth.
All I can do is breathe, “Wow.”
And this must be an invitation because he steps closer, cradling my head in his palm. This time his lips are firm, but reverent, and then he tastes me with the tip of his tongue, sliding it along mine as a very male groan vibrates into me.
In an instant, nothing exists but his touch, the sound of his ragged breathing as he touches me in a way no man ever has.
When he pulls back, his expression is fierce, his eyes crackling with laser focus. On me.
His next remark is in a thick voice that sends my skin lighting up in goosebumps. “You’ve waited on me before in the restaurant.”
“I have?”
Admittedly he just scrambled my brain. Hard. Like Vitamixer hard.
“Yeah, sweetheart, a while back.”
Searching my mind, I press my lips to stop the trembling. “How do I not remember you? You make an…impression.”
His expression softens, as he continues to stroke that gloriously rough thumb against my jaw. “It was takeout and you were super busy. Don’t beat yourself up.”
“Oh gosh. I’m so sorry, I hope I was nice.”
