Just decisive.
Her fingers hook into my shirt and she pulls me toward her.
I let her.
We shift up onto the couch together. We’re close enough now that our knees touch, our shoulders brush. She looks at me like she’s making a choice.
A deliberate one.
“We’re adults,” she says, voice trembling on the words. “We can do this.”
My pulse thunders. “This,” I repeat, low.
Her eyes flick to my mouth again. “Stop acting like you don’t know what I mean.”
I give her one last out. “Riley… tell me to stop.”
She swallows. “Don’t.”
That’s all it takes.
I cup her jaw and kiss her.
The first contact is soft—barely there—like I’m tasting the question before I take the answer. Her lips part with a quiet sound that hits me straight in the gut, and then the restraint I’ve been holding for days cracks like thin ice.
I deepen the kiss.
Riley makes a small, helpless noise and leans into me, hands sliding up my chest, fingers curling into my shirt like she’s anchoring herself.
Like I’m anchoringher.
Heat rolls through me, steady and consuming. I slide my hand to the back of her neck, fingers threading into her hair, and she shivers—full body, unmistakable.
Her mouth is warm. Soft. Hungry in a way that turns my thoughts into smoke.
I pull back just enough to breathe, our foreheads touching.
Her eyes are half-lidded, lips swollen.
“You okay?” I ask, voice rough.
She nods quickly. “Yes.”
“Tell me if it’s too much.”
“It’s not enough,” she whispers.
Christ.
I kiss her again, slower this time, letting it build. Letting her feel what I’m doing. Letting her feel that I’m not just taking—I'm paying attention.
Her hands slide around my neck, her fingers cool against my skin. She presses closer, and my body responds instantly, hard and sharp with want.
I force myself to keep it controlled. Keep it safe. Keep it about her.
My thumb strokes her jaw. My other hand moves down her back, palm spanning her waist. She’s small, but she feels perfect in my arms, like she was built to fit here.
She breaks the kiss to breathe, lips brushing mine with each inhale. “This is a really inconvenient time,” she murmurs.
