I sweep my gaze over his hair, more silver than dark now, then over his face, his silver brushed jawline, cut so sharply that if I were told touching it would result in my fingers coming away coated in blood, I’d believe it.
As handsome as he would have been aged twenty, thirty, forty, it’s breathtakingly obvious that the wisdom, the confidence, the effortless gentlemanly charm he now possesses, have only made him more mesmerizing. Alluring.
Time has transformed him. Given him something else.
Heis something else.
Tingles race down my arms, and I wiggle my fingers to check they’re still attached. The back of my neck grows hot, and the sound of my own breath echoes in my ears.
“Me?”
His eyes soften.
“You, Baby girl.”
Those gently spoken words make me suck in a sharp breath.
He holds my eyes as I process them.I knew.Every cell in my body knew deep down. All the energy I’ve felt. The way I reacted to Sullivan when I met him, a tiny hint from their shared genes at what was to come when I met the man himself. Even the way I felt something flowing off him across the table tonight.
It wasn’t because of Lavinia sitting next to me.
It was me. All because of me.
“I don’t know what to say,” I whisper.
“You don’t know what to say?”
I shake my head, my lips parting with a splintered breath. “I…”
He slides his hands around my neck, cradling beneath my jaw and tilting my face up. His body presses against mine, bringing with it the scent of him I love so much. A grounding calm soothes my racing nerves, leaving behind a hunger… an insatiable one growing and reaching up from my core.
I slide my palms over his solid chest, feeling the heat seeping through from his skin.
He searches my eyes as I stare back, dumbstruck.
“Why don’t you tell me if it still needs work?”
“What—?”
He slants his mouth over mine, stealing the words straight from them. A whimper climbs up my windpipe, escaping into his mouth as he kisses me with the skill of a man who knows exactly how to set energy racing through my veins. With soft lips, he commands all of my senses until I’m surrounded by him. Feeling his warmth, his solid strength, tasting him as he holds me to him.
“Oh my god,” I moan when he lets me break for a breath, before sinking straight back into our kiss again.
A deep groan vibrates in his throat, and he slides his tongue into my mouth, making my legs weak. I wobble, and he grasps my hip, steadying me.
I let out a soft moan, opening myself fully to him, inviting him to give me everything. To show me everything.
His kiss deepens, each slip of his tongue against mine, every pass of our lips overwhelming my thoughts and my body, igniting explosions of pure bliss throughout me.
Dragging me toward a place of no return.
“Stop!” I pull away, panting.
My fingers fly to my tingling lips, expecting to feel stardust there.
“Hallie?” Sterling’s voice is saturated with the same concern that’s overtaken his eyes.
“I… I…” I move backward, creating space between us.
