Standingin front of me with flushed cheeks, parted lips, and nerves sparking in her eyes.
“Beatrice…”
Her hands fidget as she looks up at me, those autumn eyes wide with uncertainty.
“I…” Her tongue darts out to wet her lips before she bites down softly. “I shouldn’t be here.”
My throat tightens. “Then why are you?”
I already know the answer. It’s written in her dilated pupils and the heat rising across her skin. She’s here for the same reason I was about to storm to her door.
“I can’t pretend anymore,” she breathes. “That almost-kiss? I wanted it. I wanted you. I ran because it scared me, but I?—”
She doesn’t need to say another word.
I close the distance in a breath, and my lips find hers.
Finally.
The kiss isn’t gentle. It’s fierce—weeks of tension snapping loose all at once. Her fingers curl into my shirt, pulling me closer like she wants to anchor herself to me.
I guide her gently against the wall, hands at her waist, her body arching toward mine, answering every pull with her own. I kiss her deeper, like I’ve been starved for her taste.
She lets out a soft sound into my mouth, and it shoots straight through me. I feel her hand move downward, her touch bold, and heat flares through my entire body.
I let out a low groan, my breath turning rough.
“Careful, bella. Don’t tease unless you want me finishing every bit of what you’re starting.”
She leans in ever so slightly, lips curling.
“Who said I don’t want you to?”
She pulls me back into another kiss—hotter, more urgent—igniting something primal in both of us.
We break for air, panting, foreheads pressed together like we’ve forgotten how to breathe without touching. Her hands slide beneath my hoodie, skimming my skin, exploring me inch by inch. The contact burns in the best way—raw, overwhelming, impossible to pull away from.
Everything fades away but her.
I lift her easily, my lips trailing along the curve of her neck, and carry her to the couch. I don’t need to look; I move on instinct. We sink onto the thick leather, her legs wrapping around me as she straddles my lap. The movement of her body against mine nearly undoes me. Her mouth traces hot, unsteady kisses down my throat.
Her breath is molten against my skin. Her fingers thread into my hair, tugging just enough to make a shiver quake through me.
She rocks against me and gasps—and just like that, we both know.
This is not enough.There are too many barriers. Too many layers between us.
“Beatrice,” I murmur, her name roughened with heat and restraint. “If you want me to stop… say it now.”
She shakes her head slowly, breathless.
“I won’t.”
The certainty in her eyes hits me like a punch.
“You understand what this means?” My voice drops, low and edged. “One step past this,bella, and I’m done holding back. You won’t get the controlled version of me.”
Her voice is steady, unshaken.
