The last thing I need is Reid freaking Matthews seeing me like this.
“I have an extra shirt. Just let me in.”
“Oh thank God.”
I crack open the door, ready to stick my hand out, but Reid shoulders in and shuts the door behind him. When he turns back around he freezes. His eyes travel slowly down my body. Once. Twice. The muscles of his throat work as he swallows hard. His blue eyes finally find my face again and he seems to come back to reality.
“Sorry, I . . . didn’t expect . . .”
“Me to be in my underwear?”
“Yeah. I . . .” he clears his throat. Shakes his head. Drops his gaze to the shirt in his hand. And suddenly I feel just a little colder without his eyes on me. “Here,” he says, eyes still downcast. “I grabbed a shirt from my carry-on for you.”
I grab the cotton button-up and slide it on my arms. “Thanks, Reid. You’re a lifesaver. I almost had to walk out of here in my underwear.”
“Well, obviously we can’t have that.”
“I know. How mortifying.”
He shakes his head. “I’d have to fight everyone on here who looked at you if you walked out of here looking like that.”
“Vulnerable and naked?”
His eyes find mine again, a new fire burning in them. “Sinfully sexy.”
The breath leaves my lungs. My face flushes. My fingers pause on the first button as his words hit me. He swallows again. Both of us stand there, absolutely frozen, only an inch of space between us in this tiny closet in the sky.
“Oh, screw it,” he says, just as his fingers slide in my hair, pulling my face to his. I drop the fabric, letting my arms wrap around his neck, pressing him closer to me until there’s barely even room to breathe. But who needs to breathe at a moment like this anyways? His lips are soft and warm and gentle, but they’re moving with a purpose. His teeth graze my bottom lip and I’m not proud of the sound that escapes me.
I feel his lips turn up into a smile against mine.
“I know you’ve been dying to kiss me,” he murmurs against my mouth, the words coming out just as breathless as I feel.
“Oh, shut up.” My hand slides to the back of his head and I pull his mouth back to mine, not at all ready for this kiss to be over.
Reid gives me another soft, slow kiss before pulling back, resting his forehead against mine. His chest rises and falls against mine and I think I could stay here, in this ridiculously small airplane bathroom forever so long as he’s in here with me.
“Sorry,” he says. “It’s just that seeing you in my shirt was the best thing I’ve seen in . . . in a long time.”
“Better than me not even wearing a shirt?”
“Oh, no, that was a league of its own.”
A laugh bubbles out of me. “Spectacular.”
He hesitates for a moment. Long enough that I pull my forehead from his and look into his eyes. He stares back at me for a moment as he catches his breath, and I can practically see the thoughts swirling in his mind. After a beat, he finally says, “I . . . really like you, Jane.”
“Don’t say that like it’s a bad thing.”
“It’s not a bad thing. It’s phenomenal. It’s just . . . I don’t . . . I don’t date. I don’t get feelings for girls. I’m new at this and it scares me.” He huffs a laugh, running his fingers through dark hair that I want to tousle just as badly. “God that feels absolutely pathetic to admit.”
“It’s not pathetic.” I give into the urge and run my fingers through his hair, dragging them down until I’m touching his cheek. He leans into the touch like a cat being pet and I smile. “It’s honestly kind of flattering.”
“I just want to make sure I do everything right for you. You deserve that and more. A million times more.” A slow smile touches his lips and he leans forward, slowly this time, more patient and timid. When he presses a soft kiss to my lips it’s sweet and slow and I melt into it.
“I like you too, by the way,” I murmur. “In case that wasn’t obvious.”
He exhales. “Thank god, or this whole confession would’ve been really embarrassing.”
