“Eleven years,” I correct, folding my arms over my chest.
“Eleven years,” he repeats. “Fuck.” He shakes his head a little, and then he steps closer, taking away some of the small space separating us—the space I was counting on, to be honest. “I don’t give a shit about any of that. I know what I felt when I kissed you, Ains, and I didn’t want it to end.”
“You weren’t kissing me for show?” I ask, confused at his words.
“There was nobody up there to show off to,” he says quietly. “I thought you felt it, too. Maybe I misread the situation.”
“I’m scared, Dex. I’m scared you’re going to hurt me.”
He nods. “That’s valid, and I probably will. But don’t you just want to sayfuck itand give it a try anyway?”
“Give what a try?” I ask, absolute vulnerability at the top of my tone.
“This. This pull between us.”
The elevator skids to a stop on Dex’s floor and gives us that little pause before the doors open, and that’s when I blurt, “I’m a virgin.”
The doors open, and his jaw is somewhere down on the floor as he stares at me.
“You’re a…” He trails off.
“Virgin,” I confirm.
He’s still staring at me, and we’re still standing on the elevator when the doors slide shut. The elevator doesn’t move, but we’re still on it.
“You’ve never…”
“Had sex,” I say. I shake my head, and then something in the air between us shifts.
It crackles and sparkles with tension.
Need.
Want.
Desire.
From both people occupying this space. Need, want, desire for the other person standing too close.
He’s kissed me three times now, and I never thought it would go any further than that. Public displays of affection for public consumption.
But the way he’s looking at me now tells me he wants me for more than just my mouth. He’s looking at me like he wants to devour me. Like he wants to explore every untouched inch of my naked body.
I may be innocent, but I’m not naïve.
He clears his throat, and his eyes are heated. “I won’t take that from you, but goddamn, Ains. I fucking want to.”
“Then do it,” I whisper.
“What?” he asks, the end of the word lost in the air between us.
“Do it. Take it. I want you to. There’s never been anyone worthy of it. Until you.”
He shakes his head and takes a step back. “No, no. Make no mistake, Birdie. I’m not worthy of it. I’m not worthy ofyou.”
It’smeclosing the gap between us now. “Come on, Dexter.” I raise a brow. “What’s it gonna be? Are you all in? Are you gonna sayfuck itand give me what I want?”
He takes a step back, bumping into the wall of the elevator. He closes his eyes and leans back, his neck corded and his jaw clenched at my words as he contemplates what to do here.
