The smart thing would be to step back.
To breathe.
To remember we’re standing in a room full of her unpacked life with my friend waiting just outside.
But then she whispers, “You wouldn’t,” and that flicker in her eyes dares me to prove her wrong.
Something in me snaps.
I dip my head, brushing my mouth against hers—barely there at first. She freezes, then melts, her breath catching as my thumb drags along her jaw.
Her hands fist in my shirt, and that tiny act of surrender lights me up from the inside out.
What starts as a warning becomes something deeper, hungrier. I tilt her head back, kissing her like I’ve been starving for it.
Because I have.
She tastes like defiance and adrenaline. Sweet and sharp.
When I press her back against the wall, she gasps my name, and it sounds like a prayer and a curse all at once.
My hand finds her waist—small, warm, trembling—and I swear the room spins.
Her fingers slide up my chest, over my collar, tugging just enough to make me groan.
“Langston…” she whispers.
I lean in until my lips hover just above hers. “You drive me insane, you know that?”
Her eyes glint up at me. “Good.”
That single word breaks whatever restraint I had left. I kiss her again—deep, slow, claiming—until neither of us remembers what we were arguing about.
Her heartbeat pounds against my chest, perfectly in sync with mine.
And then—
A sharp knock at the door shatters the moment.
We both freeze, breathing hard. I rest my forehead against hers, laughing quietly.
“Saved by the knock,” I murmur, even as she blushes and pushes at my chest.
When I straighten, she’s still trying to catch her breath, lips swollen, eyes wild.
God, she’s beautiful like this.
I force myself to step back, scrub a hand over my jaw, and head for the door—because if I don’t, we’ll never leave this apartment.
When I open it, Nathan’s grinning ear to ear, and Matthew’s behind him holding two rolls of tape, a stack of folded boxes, and an energy drink.
“Delivery,” Nathan says cheerfully. “The cavalry has arrived.”
Sabrina’s brows knit together. “What is this?”
I step aside, letting the guys in, and lean against the doorframe with a slow smile.
“Your moving party.”
