It exploded on impact.
Acloudof fine white powder billowed around them, coating everything—his uniform, her apron, their hair, their skin.
Hannah coughed, waving a hand in front of her face. "Oh,for God's sake?—"
Jake, blinking through the sudden haze, took in the absolutewreckthey'd just made of the storage room. The floor was a mess of footprints, a broken-open sack spilling flour like fresh snow. And standing there, covered head to toe in a soft dusting of white, was Hannah.
She looked like a surprised, flour-covered angel.
A laugh caught in his throat before he could stop it.
"Don't." Her voice was sharp, pointing at him like a weapon. "You dare."
Jake held up both hands in surrender, grinning despite himself. "Not a word."
Hannah exhaled sharply, irritated—then froze.
She was looking at him. Really looking.
And before he could react—before he could stop her—she reached up.
Her fingers brushed through his dark strands, shaking free the flour.
For a heartbeat, they juststood there.
Her fingers ghosting over his scalp. His breath shallow. Her lips slightly parted.
The world outside the storage room didn't exist.
It was just this—just them.
Her touch lingered, her fingers trembling slightly. Her throat bobbed in a swallow, and Jake couldseethe war in her eyes. Thepart of her that wanted to step back. The part of her that wanted tostay.
Jake made the choice for her.
He kissed her. The taste of flour giving way almost immediately to the familiar feel of her lips.
Softly at first. Gently. A slow, reverent brush of his lips against hers, like he was giving her time to pull away.
She didn't.
She melted into him with a sharp inhale, hands sliding down to clutch his shirt. And just like that, the kissdeepened.
Jake tilted his head, pressing in—letting himself drown in her warmth, her taste, the familiar shape of her body against his. His hands found her waist, fingers flexing over the curve of her hips,memorizingthe feel of her.
God, hemissedthis. Missedher.
Hannah made a soft, desperate sound against his mouth, and itwreckedhim.
He kissed her harder, deeper, pouring every unspoken thing into the connection.
I love you.
I'm sorry.
I never stopped wanting you.
Her fingers fisted in his shirt, pulling him closer, like she needed him just as badly.
