“It is.” He met my eyes. “But I turned my phone off. For you. Because being here, talking to you, felt more important than whatever new crisis was blowing up in that group chat.”
Something fluttered in my chest. “Knox…”
“I’m just saying. Taking risks is hard. Being brave is hard. But sometimes you meet someone and you just know it’s worth it.” His gaze held mine, steady and certain. “I knew it the second you started singing.”
My heart was beating too fast. No one had ever looked at me the way he was looking at me—like I was something rare and precious, like he couldn’t quite believe I was real.
“I’ve just never been good at taking risks,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “I’m the girl who colors inside the lines. Who follows the rules. Who plays it safe.” I laughed, but it came out hollow. “Meghan’s always telling me I need to live a little. Take some chances. But every time I think about doing something scary, I just…freeze.”
“Like what?”
I glanced up at him. He was watching me with that same steady patience, like nothing I said could shock him. It made me reckless. Made me want to test it.
“Like everything,” I said. “Like the music thing. Like…other things.”
“Other things?”
I could feel the heat creeping up my neck, but I didn’t look away. “I’m twenty-three years old and I’ve never… I mean, I haven’t…” I took a breath. “I’m a virgin, Knox. Because I’ve been too scared to let anyone close enough to change that.”
There it was. Out in the open. I waited for his expression to change—surprise, maybe, or pity, or that particular look guys got when they realized you weren’t going to be easy.
But Knox just held my gaze, steady as ever. Something flickered in his eyes—heat, maybe, or interest—but his voice stayed calm.
“Well,” he said slowly, a hint of a smile tugging at his mouth, “I could help you with that. If you wanted.”
My heart stuttered. He was joking. He had to be joking. But there was something in his eyes that said maybe he wasn’t. Maybe he meant it. Maybe, if I was brave enough to take him up on it?—
I stood.
Knox blinked, clearly not expecting that. “Teddie?—”
“Follow me.”
I didn’t wait to see if he would. I just turned and walked deeper into the storage room, toward the back corner where the shelves created a little alcove, hidden from the door. My pulse was pounding so hard I could feel it in my throat, but I didn’t stop. Didn’t let myself think about what I was doing or why or what would happen next.
For once in my life, I was going to take a risk.
I heard his footsteps behind me, slow and deliberate, like he was giving me time to change my mind. I didn’t. I stopped in the alcove and turned to face him just as he reached me.
“Teddie.” His voice was rough, his eyes searching my face. “Are you sure?”
I answered by reaching up, grabbing the front of his flannel shirt, and pulling his mouth down to mine.
He made a sound—surprise, maybe, or relief—and then his arms were around me, pulling me against his chest. He kissed me back like he’d been waiting for it, like he’d been holding himself in check and I’d just given him permission to let go. His mouth was hot and hungry, his hands sliding down my back to grip my hips, and I melted into him, letting him take my weight, letting him take control.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I registered that all was silent around us. We’d be safe to do whatever we want, uninterrupted…for now, anyway. Then his hands were in my hair and his tongue was stroking against mine and I stopped thinking about anything at all.
4
KNOX
Jesus Christ.
The second her mouth crashed into mine, every ounce of restraint I’d been clinging to snapped like a dry twig. Teddie—sweet, shy Teddie—was kissing me like she was starving, her fingers fisted tight in my shirt, pulling me down to her level like she couldn’t wait another second. And I wasn’t about to make her.
I backed her up until her shoulders met the cool metal shelving, caging her in with my body. She was so damn small against me, soft curves pressing into hard muscle, and the little gasp she let out when my thigh slid between hers went straight to my cock. I swallowed that sound with another kiss, deeper this time, slower, tasting her—coffee and something sweet, like the cherry lip balm I’d watched her swipe on earlier.
My hands couldn’t stay still. One slid up her spine, under the hem of her shirt, finding warm skin that made her shiver. The other cupped her jaw, angling her head so I could take the kiss exactly how I wanted—hot, filthy, thorough. She kissed me back like she was learning on the fly, eager and a little clumsy, and that only made me burn hotter. Knowing no one else hadever touched her like this, tasted her like this…it was doing dangerous things to my head.
