“What do you mean?” he asks, his voice a little raspy.
“You said no one ever comes here. But I’m here in the middle of the night making a giant mess in your kitchen and baking more cookies than any person reasonably needs and probably jacking up your heating bill because I like the smell of snow.” I shrug. “You’re not alone because I’m right here.”
Brian swallows hard and seems to move just a little closer to me, running his thumb lightly over mine as a shiver works its way up my spine. “I’m glad you’re here,” he says quietly.
“Yeah?” I manage hoarsely as my body moves involuntarily closer to his.
“Yeah.” Brian brings his free hand to my cheek, and his eyes lock on mine as he slides to the edge of his stool, our bodies just inches apart. “My loft feels happier with you in it, Liv. I feel happier, too.”
The idea that he’s happy because of me, that I could make him that way, is a powerful thing. I slide to the edge of my stool too, and with our bodies almost flush, our eyes never averting, we stand there on the precipice.
“Liv,” Brian says in a low voice.
“What?” I practically whisper.
“I really want to kiss you.”
I smile, my free hand sliding over his hip, the heat of his skin seeping through his shirt and warming my palm as he sucks in a harsh breath. “So kiss me.”
Letting my hand go, Brian slides his arm around my waist and dips his head, pressing his lips to mine. The second our lips touch, my stomach shimmers and I sigh, practically melting into him as our mouths move together. It’s slow at first. Not exactly tentative, but careful, an exploration of sorts. A kind of question that somehow, someway, I already know the answer to.
Brian pulls back, his eyes still on mine. His pupils are blown, and his chest rises and falls rapidly as he looks at me with desire swimming in his gaze.
“Liv.”
My name has never sounded the way it does coming from Brian’s mouth. Like a plea and a prayer all at once and then he’s letting my hand go, cupping my face in both of his hands and tiling my head back, crashing our mouths together. Heat explodes in my belly and fireworks ignite in my brain as Brian spins us, pushing me back against the island and locking our bodies together as his tongue glides over my lips. I open for him, and he dives inside, licking into my mouth as need for him swims in my blood. Brian’s hands slide around my neck and into my hair, tilting my head exactly where he wants it, and god, I want it too.
This. Him. Everything.
His lips are full and soft, and he tastes like cookies and smells like pine and something spicy that is now my favorite scent in the world. The dark, cozy night wraps itself around us, and electricity snaps and crackles as we devour each other. Brian takes the kiss deeper and swallows my moan as he groans into my mouth, pressing his hips tighter against mine. He’s hard against my belly and my clit throbs with need, the ache between my legs almost unbearable.
I’ve been kissed before, but I have never, ever been kissed like this. I never want to stop.
“Fuck, Liv,” Brian murmurs against my lips, one hand dropping to my waist to slide under my sweatshirt, pressing against my lower back. “This is probably a bad idea.”
“Such a bad idea,” I say, practically panting at the feel of his skin against mine. And it is. He’s my brother’s best friend and we both live here, our lives tied together in all kinds of ways that make this wildly complicated. But somehow, when Brian’s lips skate over my jaw and down my neck before he eases back again and presses his forehead to mine, I can’t seem to care about any of that.
“Your brother would probably kill me.”
“Probably, but nobody cares what he thinks.”
Brian huffs out a laugh, bringing his mouth back to mine in a long, slow, dizzying kiss. “In this moment, I certainly don’t. I just want to kiss you some more, and we can deal with tomorrow, tomorrow. I’ve been waiting a long time to have you in my arms.”
I start to ask him what he means by that, but then his lips are back on mine and every rational thought falls right out of my head. With the scent of winter and cookies surrounding us and the snow still falling outside, Brian and I kiss and kiss and kiss, and nothing in the history of the world has ever felt so right.
Even if it’s probably all completely wrong.
CHAPTER FOUR
BRIAN
Liv
Sweet win today. Congrats. You going to guys’ night tonight?
Me
Thanks, but it’s not like I actually played the game.
