He inched closer.
Her eyes flared again. “What are you doing?”
“I have no fucking idea. But I know I don’t want to leave you.” He didn’t just know it; hefeltit.Breathedit. His need for her was in his blood, and he had no clue how to chase it away.
Elle’s pulsepicked up speed. Jace stood too close, his ocean-blue eyes boring into her as he spoke words about not wanting to leave her.Her. Boring, plain Elle. It felt like a dream she’d had a million times before. A dream she’d believed would never become reality.
She shook her head. “We’re friends.”
A ghost of a smile stretched his lips. “You’re finally admitting it.”
When his thumb grazed her a second time, her skin burned from her shoulder right down to her fingertips. “You don’t date women like me.”
This time, he pulled back, a frown bunching his brow. “Women like you?”
“Is it because I’ve lost weight?” The words were out before she could stop them, and she immediately wanted to tug them back.
“What?” He almost sounded angry.
She squirmed. “The reason you see me now. The reason you almost seem to…want me. That’s the only thing that’s changed.”
“You thought I didn’t see you in high school?”
She bit her bottom lip, her gaze falling to her feet. She wished the floor would open up and swallow her. She didnotwant to have this conversation, yet she was the one who’d initiated it.
“Tink.”
She glanced up at the softness in his voice.
“Answer my question.”
“You didn’t see me the way you saw the girls you dated. You dated the most gorgeous girls, and I…”
His eyes narrowed. “You what?”
She lifted a shoulder. “Iwasn’tgorgeous.” Her gaze lowered again.
He placed a finger on her chin, tilting her head up, waiting until her gaze met his. “Tink, you have always been, and will always be, the most beautiful woman in every room. You areallI see.”
Time seemed to slow, and her knees suddenly felt weak.
A part of her struggled to believe his words. But the way he looked at her, like she was every bit as important to him as he was to her, made herwantto believe it.
“I want to kiss you so badly right now that it’s like a physical ache in my chest,” he whispered. “Notkissing you hurts.”
Her lips parted and her heart thumped so fast that she could hear it as much as she could feel it. Becauseshewas the one who’d always dreamed of kissinghim.Shewas the one who’d been hopelessly consumed by this man for years.
He inched another step forward, until his front touched hers. Until she felt heat radiate from his body. The rise and fall of his chest.
When his head began to lower, her breath stuttered, and a part of her almost felt scared at the prospect of finally kissing him. So scared that she wanted to run. But her feet refused to move.
Then his lips touched hers. Soft lips. Lips that just grazed against hers.
He cupped the back of her head, and a soft hum slipped from her lips. She grabbed his shirt, nearly afraid that if she didn’t, her knees would cave.
When the hand on her arm slipped around her waist, nudging her closer, she gasped, and his tongue slipped inside her mouth. Then she was tasting him. And God, he tasted exactly how she’d dreamed he would. Of wine and spices and something else. Something infinitely Jace.
Another moan escaped her throat, and he growled and turned them, pressing her to the hallway wall before grinding against her. It was both ecstasy and torment, igniting this deep need inside her for more. More of Jace. Of his kisses and touches. Of the way he made her skin tingle and her heart beat out of her chest.
