He’s alsofun. Good fun.
And he has Emma’s sunshine, which I never noticed before, but it’s unmistakable. Aside from the moment he realized he was stuck with me, he’s been cheerful and upbeat no matter the obstacles in his way.
And realizing hecares—and that he’s utterly irresistible in how much he cares—is making this all the worse.
I want him.
I do.
I want him.
He gives me one last withering glare that makes me feel more like he’s mentally stripping me than that he hates me. “Please go away.”
I lick my lips. “Do you want me because I’m convenient or because you wantme?”
“You arenotconvenient.”
That wasn’t complimentary. Don’t think he meant it to be.
I don’t want to want you, but I can’t help myself.This is part of the chaos that I can’t control.
He splays his hands wide on the table like he’s using it as a buffer between us. The scents of vanilla, sugar, and melted chocolate float through the air, made more potent by the tension hanging between us.
I could do this.
I could have raw, wild, uninhibited sex with Theo in a kitchen he broke into and is using to make chocolate chip cookies.
Because he’s not already attractive enough.
“You won’t like all of me, Laney,” he says, low and tight.
“You made my hangover cookies,” I whisper. “That’s why it took so long. You broke in here and made fresh cookies.”
“If you don’t leave, I’ll ruin you.”
I know exactly what he’s saying.You will never want sex with another man after you get a taste of what I can give you.
I shiver. It’s agoodshiver. A forbidden shiver. Afunshiver. “What am I, a governess in the eighteen hundreds?”
“If you don’t leave, you’ll ruinme.” I’ve never heard his voice like this. Desperate. Anguished. Vulnerable.
“I don’t want to ruin you,” I whisper. “I want toknowyou.”
“You really don’t.”
“I really do.” I reach behind me, make sure the door is fully closed, and flip the lock.
His brown eyes, already dark, go fully midnight. “You shouldn’t do that.”
“I like you,” I whisper while my feet carry me around the prep table.
He watches me like he’s a trapped, wounded mountain lion. “You shouldn’t.”
“You’re a good person.”
“You have no idea who all I am.”
“You save kittens and rescue your sister in ways she doesn’t even know and you take care of me when I’m drunk.”
