A beat passes. My instinct is to think it’s a joke. I’ve dated in the past, of course. And I’m not exactly a chaste man or a prude. But it’s been a long time since anyone has held my interest long enough for me to bother with the mind-numbing process ofdating.
Moreover, does she think I would kiss like I did her one week and frolic off into the sunset with another woman the next?
My brow furrows. “No, I was not on a date at four-thirty on a Monday afternoon, Lila.”
She tosses a lock of hair over her shoulder, hands fluttering nervously as she shuffles her feet in the little kitchenette area. “Makes sense.”
“I’m not—I don’t have the time or patience for any of that… stuff.”
Something shifts in her gaze. Disappointment, maybe. Like it’s the real explanation she’s been waiting for since the way we left things after the gala.
“I understand.” She drags her teeth along her bottom lip, glancing away.
“Lila.”
“Hm?”
“It’s not personal. You’re lovely. But—”
“But we’re colleagues, and the union stuff, and I’m probably not even your type anyway, so—”
“What?” This time, I let out a real laugh. “Is that what you think the problem is?”
“I—”
I step closer before I can stop myself, lowering my voice. “What I do have,” I murmur, “is want.”
My fingers close gently around her wrist—not pulling, not demanding. Just there. Steady. Intentional.
“You are my type, Lila.”
The words feel dangerous the second they leave my mouth, but they’re also the truest thing I’ve said all day. “You’re lovely. And if things were different…” My jaw tightens. “I’d already be on my knees for you.”
She gapes at me, breath hitching, those wide eyes flicking down to where I’m touching her before lifting again.
“Well,” she murmurs, looking up through her lashes, holding perfectly still like she’s daring me to be the one who breaks,“we’re not in the fire station right now. So it’s technically not fraternizing.”
“I’m not sure that adheres to the Hawk’s guidelines.”
“And as much as I respect her, I’m not sure I care right now.”
I shouldn’t. In fact, Ican’t.There’s a reason I put distance between us after that first kiss. Around her, I feel out of control. I can’t focus on being the leader that everyone needs me to be.
And yet, when she looks at me like this, all I want to be is the man who makes her moan my name.
So, because my day started out shaky in the first place and my willpower is already hanging on a thread, I give in to temptation.
I reach for Lila, pulling her against me. She gasps, bracing her palms against my chest. I capture her lips with mine, and she melts into the kiss so immediately that it proves that she craved this touch just as badly as I did.
Slowly, I back her up against her kitchen cupboards, then lift her up onto the counter. She wraps her legs around my waist, grabbing fistfuls of my collar to pull me closer.
Lila makes a soft sound against my mouth.
But then, somehow, between one kiss and the next, she’s pushing me away.
It’s not a forceful shove, but a subtle pressure that instantly alerts me to the fact that she no longer wants this, that she wants to backtrack.
I rip my lips away from hers, still tasting her sweetness on my tongue when I take a significant step back.
