His mouth moved against mine with a slow kind of confidence that made my head spin. Then deeper. Hungrier. The heat of him soaked straight through my shirt, and I felt him everywhere. His chest pressing against me, his fingers settling low on my back, the light scrape of his stubble against my cheek as he tilted the kiss to draw me in further.
I sank into it before I even realised I had. I could feel the faint rhythm of his pulse, taste a hint of coffee on his lips. His hand slid up to cup the back of my neck, thumb stroking once over the hinge of my jaw – and then he nipped lightly at my bottom lip.
The jolt that sent through me was instantaneous. Heat lit up the base of my throat and made a beeline south. My fingers bunched into the fabric of his shirt, and the noise that slippedout of me was entirely involuntary. By the time he pulled back, my thoughts had scattered in ten different directions.
God.It wasn’t fair how fast he could undo me with a single kiss.
His fingers slipped into my hair, and I leaned into his touch without even thinking. "You don't have to do it all today," he said softly. "And if you want help, just ask."
I blinked at him, heat rushing up the back of my neck. My voice didn’t come out quite as steady as I wanted. “If you keep doing that, I'll never get anything done.”
He grinned, all smug affection and crooked charm. “That doesn't sound like a complaint.”
I didn’t even get a chance to reply before he leaned in and kissed me again. Quick this time, but still enough to leave my heart stumbling over itself.
Then he stepped away like he hadn’t just short-circuited every functioning part of my brain. He casually headed toward the kitchen with that self-satisfied little bounce in his step that made me want to kiss him again. Or maybe shove him into the counter and return the favour.
Cocky bastard.
I dropped back onto the sofa and tried to remember what I was doing before Eli turned my brain into mush. I stuck the memory stick into the computer and started transferring some of the files, but I was running on autopilot. My lip tingled from the bite, and my chest was still warm where he'd pressed against me. Concentration was a lost cause.
A few minutes passed mostly in silence, broken only by the quiet shuffle of Eli moving around in the kitchen to put things away. I heard the fridge door open and close, a cupboard bang gently shut. Then his footsteps crossed back into the room behind me.
"Oh, hey, just a heads-up," he said casually, "I've gotta head back into London tonight. One of my clients is having ameltdown and wants me in first thing in the morning."
My chest went tight before I could stop it.
Right... He lives in London.
I couldn't believe I forgot. He'd been here every day since things went sideways, but he still had a life in the city. A flat. Work. Clients.
Of course this wasn't permanent.
Granted, it was only an hour by train, but the distance suddenly felt like a lot more. I knew better than to panic over it. Eli had never given me a reason to think he'd vanish or that we'd go back to the way we were. Hell, that kiss just now proved otherwise.
But the thought still crept in. What if the distance started to wear on this? I'd gotten used to having him here, and now I'd have to unlearn it?
I did my best to shove all of that aside and gave the simplest answer I could manage. "Okay."
I didn't hear any movement behind me, so I turned my attention back to the laptop and transferred the next file, trying to pretend I wasn't bothered at all.
My focus zeroed in so hard on the computer that I didn't notice Eli had moved until the cushion beside me dipped under his weight. I flinched but didn't let myself react beyond that. I didn't look over, didn't speak. Just kept clicking through files to make it look like I was busy.
He leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. After a moment of quiet, he asked, "What's going on in your head?"
I didn't look up. "Nothing. Just trying to finish this."
He let that hang there for a second before he spoke again. "Rowan."
"I'm fine."
Though he didn't push, I could feel him watching me. I clicked another folder and opened a video file. I wasn't really looking at it, but I needed something to stare at.
Then Eli reached out, gently closed the laptop, and nudged it out of the way.
The flash of irritation was sharp and immediate – but it didn't stick. It dissolved the second he dropped down to the floor in front of me. His hands braced against the sofa on either side of my legs, and his eyes locked on mine. I had no choice but to look at him.
"You've gone quiet," he said gently. "I know what that means. So talk to me."
