“I only said it to protect you. Sure, this guy might only be good at making files disappear and not people, but I didn’t want to take that chance. Not with you.”
She kept her icy stare on me. "Is that because you actually want to keep me safe, or because you have to?"
“Because I need to."
Even though the rain was pounding down on us, I still heard her breath hitch.
"Because I can't stop thinking about you. I think about you all the time, Cora, and it’s driving me insane.”
She leaned back, crossing her arms like a shield, but I saw the way her fingers trembled slightly against her skin. “You don’t get to play the hero now.”
“I know.” I leaned a half-inch closer, and her eyes flickered. “But I’m being honest. I’m bearing my fucking heart to you and you don’t have to believe me, but… I like you. Okay?”
“You don’t mean that,” she snapped, even though her voice wavered.
“I mean every word.”
Her head shook, inching closer. “No one means it when they say they like me. I’ve seen it happen time and time again. People use me for their own gain and leave me broken and Idon’t think I can take another hit. Not if all I am is a crown that needs protecting.”
“You were, at first,” I rushed, honestly. “But everything happened and now the thought of having you close makes me want to never let you go.”
A beat of silence fell between us. Her gaze dragged over my face, marking my mouth, my jaw, my eyes, and lingered. Like she was memorising the way I looked when she undid. And I was. Completely.
“You’re serious?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
I nodded once, slowly. “Yeah.”
Her breath hitched once more, but this time I caught it, and my pulse jumped in response.
We we’re standing too close, too tense, too full of unsaid things. And her lips were right there. Right fucking there. And she kept looking at mine like she was serious too.
She shifted her weight. I glanced down at her mouth again. She didn’t back away.
God, she was killing me.
My hands twitched at my sides. I wanted to touch her. Pull her in. Feel her again.
But her mouth beat me to it.
“I wasn’t sure what I wanted the last time you kissed me.” she rushed, breathless, as my hand rose to her cheek, my thumb skimming my stubble absent-mindedly. “The last time we were this close.”
I dipped my head, looking right into those eyes I wanted to drown in. “And now?”
My thumb brushed over her pink lips as her eyes dragged over my face, her pupils growing before she found mine. “Now I don’t want to waste another second denying myself something else that feels so right just because it's the right thing to do.” Our noses brushed, her lips so fucking close. “I want you.”
“Really?” I rushed, wondering if I’d heard her correctly.
She nodded against me. “Really." Hey eyes caught mine. "But only if you want to—”
It was my turn to kiss her quick, my tongue brushing over hers, telling hers just how much I wanted this.
I don’t know why I pulled back, but I did. Purely to see her. See whatever was running through that incredible mind of hers. And like always, it was in her eyes. She wanted this.
Those dark orbs dipped to my mouth, before peering up at me through those thick lashes. “Interrupt me again, Marcus, and I’ll go back and find Cameron.”
It was like hearing my name on her lips was all I needed to let go.
I grabbed her face with both hands, stealing a breath before whispering, “I think we both know it's not his name you'll be moaning tonight.”
