His gaze moved from the sky down to her face. A smile played at the corners of his mouth.
Cassie shivered. At this moment in time, all sorts of wrong though it was, she wanted himso much.
‘You’re cold. We should go home. Take my jumper.’ He pulled it off over his head, giving Cassie yet another excellent view, this time of the stretch of his chest muscles and biceps through his shirt.
‘Thank you.’ Cassie really couldn’t tell him that she wasn’t cold at all.
His jumper was warm from his body. Something that had so recently been touching his body was now touching hers.And she was surrounded intoxicatingly by his musky smell. If she could just be wrapped in his actual arms and pressed against his chest, she’d be a very happy woman indeed.
She really needed to get a grip.
The walk back was lovely, and not long enough. Cassie could happily have worn James’s jumper and walked arm-bumpingly along with him for hours.
Maybe it was the wine she’d had, but this time the lift didn’t feel awkward so much as like the perfect opportunity to be close to James in their own little world, just the two of them. As it chugged slowly upwards, James leaned against the back wall of it, smiling lazily at her while she told him about her plans for the couple of days she was spending in Glasgow after the weekend. She could totally have launched herself right at him, there and then. It was, frankly, a huge disappointment when the doors opened.
Once in the flat, Cassie put her bag down and walked over to the windows. ‘I love the view from these at night.’
‘Me too.’ James joined her. Even if she hadn’t been able to see how close he was from their reflections in the window, she’d have sensed his – magnificently solid – shoulder above hers. ‘When I viewed the flat before I bought it, it was December and about seven p.m., so fully dark, and I walked in and saw the park lit up by the streetlights, and even a couple of stars – it was a clear evening – and I was sold.’
‘You do like a star.’ Cassie turned so that she was facing him and smiled up at him. They were standing very close to each other but not touching.
‘I do.’ He wasn’t looking at the sky, though, he was looking ather. Very intently. He’d been smiling but the smile had gone. His eyes were very serious. And very blue. She’d never really gone for blue eyes; she’d always much preferred brown ones. But, actually, the right blue was gorgeous. His were a light navy. Like a clear inland lake.
His pupils were definitely dilating. He was looking at her eyes. And her mouth. And her chest, possibly because she was taking some very deep breaths.
Her mouth was so dry. She licked her lips and his gaze returned to them.
She took another deep breath and he inhaled sharply too.
Oh God. Something was going to happen.
She inched a tiny bit closer to him. Their chests were almost touching now.
A small part of her brain told her that this was maybe not the best thing to be doing and her entire body shoutedShut up.
James lifted his hand and cupped the back of her head. Oh, God. This was really, really it.
Twenty-Three
James
Cassie’s hair felt beautifully soft. And there was so much of it. James wound his fingers through her curls, put his other arm around her waist and leaned down towards her.
He brushed her lips with his, very lightly, just for a second.
It was like the world stopped for that moment.
And then he drew back.
Cassie had both her hands on his chest, her head tilted up towards his, her lips slightly open, her eyes half closed.
There was only one thing that James wanted to do at this point, and he was pretty certain that Cassie felt the same way.
But.
She was his guest, and it was Friday night, and she was staying here until Sunday, and what if she regretted it in the morning? She had nowhere else to go. It would be a nightmare for her if she wanted to leave but couldn’t.
They really shouldn’t do it. It was really unfair on Cassie.
