“They’d probably give it to us even if they were still here,” he said. “They loved me, remember?”
“They loved everyone—you just encouraged it. How many meals did they cook for you?”
“I wasn’t counting,” he said with a smile in his voice, “but sometimes it was like having my own meal prep service.” He had his back to me, rifling through the pantry for a while before he finally spoke again. “It feels good knowing you’re coming with me.”
The deep timbre of his voice had my fingers freezing on the handle of a first-aid kit, and I stayed quiet to see if he’d keep talking.
“I don’t know what we’re doing here,” he went on, “but it feels… big. Like it means something. I couldn’t have driven off without you, even if Kerger wasn’t around.”
My heart swelled as the weight of his words sank in. At one point, I thought Nathan would be the man I ended up marrying, but he was merely a crush who became a habit. We’d never had deep conversations. He didn’t put me first or make me feel important.
Theo and I weren’t even in an official relationship yet, and he’d connected to me more in the past weeks than Nathan had in years.
When he turned with a cereal box in one hand, his eyes found mine across the kitchen. As he looked at me, the air between us shifted and turned electric.
Total silence enveloped us. There was no humming fridge or dishwasher. No television chatter. Just the two of us in a space we didn’t belong—and I’d never felt more at home.
“It means something to me, too,” I said. A tremor rushed through me, and a sweet fluttering sensation stirred in my stomach. We hadn’t even touched yet, and it felt like every part of my body was being brought to life.
A hint of a smile played at his mouth as he set the box on the bench and wandered over to me. My heart pumped faster with his approach, and I held onto the first-aid kit like a lifeline.
Theo stopped when we were toe-to-toe. He reached for me, fingers brushing mine before slowly uncurling them from the handle. He took it from me and set it aside, his touch warm and careful, his nearness sending tingles up my arm.
I lifted my chin and held his gaze, my breath catching when he didn’t look away.
How would the twins feel about all the pheromones flooding their apartment? I hoped they wouldn’t mind us using their space this way. Since Theo had charmed them the same way he did everyone else, I had a feeling they’d approve.
His thumb traced lazy circles on my knuckles. For such a simple touch, it shouldn’t have made my pulse leap, but I couldn’t breathe properly. His hand slipped higher, caressing my wrist, then my arm.
Theo curved his fingers around the back of my neck, stroking the sensitive skin there until I shivered and pulled him closer. The edge of the bench pressed against my lower back, and his body caged me in, containing me.
I should have moved away. Stopped this craziness before it spiralled.
His uneven breaths matched mine, his grey eyes turning smoky in the low light.
When he leaned in, our surroundings faded to nothing. He trailed his lips across my cheek, pressing a peck on the spot where he’d first kissed me, as if in memory. Then his mouth hovered over mine with the most frustrating, exhilarating patience. I would have laughed at my desperation if I hadn’t been so wrapped up in every little thing about him.
Was he waiting for me to meet him halfway?
If so, challenge accepted.
My hands fisted in the front of his shirt as our lips touched, softly at first. Slowly. Then his stubble rasped my chin, and I almost lost my mind. A moan tore through me, and Theo smiled against my mouth, angling his head and deepening the kiss. His fingers shoved under the fall of my hair, and he grabbed a handful as his tongue swept through my mouth.
God.
Goosebumps skated across my skin, and I arched against him, unable to control myself.
His other hand moved to the hem of my top, dipping underneath and caressing my lower back. When his fingers danced up my spine, his touch so gentle and sensual, I almost begged him to open the clasp on my bra.
Theo broke the kiss and eased my head back to expose my neck. “I like the sounds you make,” he said, his voice rough against my ear. He trailed his mouth lower, leaving soft, damp kisses along my throat.
A surge of desire sped through me, and my entire body sang. “I can’t take much more.” I wanted him to devour me. Make me forget everything outside these walls.
“Hmm, we’ll see.”
His dry tone pulled a laugh from me. I sank my hands into his hair and told myself to treasure this before our world blew up.“Whatever you do to me, I’ll return tenfold,” I said. “Remember that.”
He lifted his head and frowned, his gorgeous lips puffy from our kiss. “Who saystenfold? And that’s… the opposite of a threat, sweetheart.”
