I shiver at the thought, flashing back to the memory of the spell I was under in that moment.
“And when you crashed your car into mine, I couldn’t stop myself from scouring your body for any injuries, even thoughyouran intome. Then you fucking bent over to check my bumper.” He lets out a dark chuckle, and the devious tone sends a thrill up my spine. “And my fingers literally flinched to touch you.”
My heart pounds unsteadily as he runs a hand through his hair before he continues.
“However, I could’ve pushed all that to the back of my mind and made a logical decision about who to hire. But then”—he shakes his head—“you came to my house and lit the whole place up like a fireworks show. You laughed and had a dance party with my girls and made me smile until my cheeks ached.”
His words soak through all the layers I’ve put around my heart, and the protection dissolves like sugar in hot water.
My rational brain has been raging at my heart for so long, trying to deny my feelings for Finn and his girls. I’ve fought against that tug-of-war rope until my fingers might as well have bled from the pressure.
But now I want to abandon all the resistance. I want to fall into the feeling in my floozy heart and let it lead the way.
Maybe she knows what she’s doing.
Finn’s eyes haven’t left mine. He watches as I drag in a deep breath.
“Does that scare you?” he asks.
Bravery pumps through my veins. “No.”
“Does it change anything?”
“Yes.”
He licks his lips. “What does it mean?”
“It means we tied our game.”
Amusement dances over his face. “I’ll let you claim your prize anyway. Dare me to do something.”
I shake my head sadly. “I sure wish you didn’t kiss like a sheepdog, because then I might be tempted to try it.”
He straightens. Clears his throat. “I’ve gotten much better. I promise,” he says, his gaze dropping to my lips.
I let the words slip out. “I dare you to prove it.”
He keeps his intense focus on me as he slowly swallows the remaining liquid in his tumbler. This is my chance to backtrack, and I think he’s giving me time to reconsider my words.
But I don’t want to.
Instead, I give him a subtle nod, and that’s all the permission he needs before he rises to set the tumbler on the desk. Then he stalks to my chair and drops to his knees in front of me.
Silence stretches through the heavy air between us, and my lips practically buzz with sparks as he watches them like he wants to consume them.
His face is a portrait of desire, and I file it away under “Man who intends to kiss a woman until she forgets her own name.”
He doesn’t look like he kisses like a sheepdog. This man knows exactly what he’s doing and has the confidence to prove it.
As he inches closer, heat pools between my thighs. He grips my knees, his fingertips sliding under the hem of my dress and parting my legs easily, as though my muscles can’t find the strength to resist that light pressure. My thighs take up residence on either side of his waist like they were meant to. Like they choose to live there now.
I lick my lips and watch my fingers grip the silky fabric of his shirt. “We aren’t very good at being just friends. I drew a line, and we weren’t supposed to cross it.”
“Millie.” He rubs his thumb gently over the seam of my lips, then his fingertips move along my jaw, under my ear, and envelopthe side of my neck. “Pretty sure I was erasing that line as you were making it.”
His eyes are as dark as the night sky, and I’m falling into them, drifting through space without oxygen or anything to tether me. I’ll be completely lost there forever, and I’m still longing for it.
“Is this okay?” he whispers, muscles tense like a predator holding himself back for the perfect opportunity to strike.
