“Hey, Nix.” His voice wrapped around me.
“Hi, Pack.”
He stepped back to let me in. When the door clicked shut behind me, the room felt too small.
“Long flight?” he asked.
“Longest of my life.”
“Yeah?” His lips curved into a smile. “Missed me that much?”
The words came out before I could stop them. “I always miss you. Every second we’re apart.”
He reached for me, fingers brushing the back of my neck and sliding into my hair. He tugged enough to pull me close, and I wrapped my arms around him.
We didn’t rush. The usual heat was there, but there was also something deeper. The kiss was about breath and skin, thegentle scratch of his scruff, and silence that said more than anything we could have said.
When he drew away, he kept his hand on my cheek. “You hungry?”
“No,” I whispered. “Not for food, anyway.”
He let out a soft, breathy laugh. “Good. I haven’t ordered yet.”
We held on to each other while the noise of the week faded. Whatever the weekend held, this moment felt like the beginning of something deeper.
I woke with Pack’s chest pressed against my back and his arm wrapped around my waist. His breath was slow and even against my neck. I didn’t move; for a few seconds, I didn’t even breathe. I just lay there in the quiet room, feeling secure because the universe had finally gotten something right.
My stomach flipped. I’d slept with boyfriends before, but it had never been like this. No one else had ever made me feel so lucky, so emotional that I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. The truth was wonderful, even if it was also terrifying.
I was in love with Pack.
Completely, recklessly, undeniably in love. And I still didn’t know what he wanted from me.
I shifted enough to look over my shoulder. He was still asleep, his hair a mess on the pillow. With his lips parted, he looked peaceful. Vulnerable, even. This was the version of him I used to imagine when we were twenty, before everything fell apart.
I turned to face him. His eyes opened, heavy with sleep, and he smiled.
My heart stuttered.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi.”
He traced a slow line up my back. “Sleep okay?”
“Better than okay.”
His smile deepened. “Good. Last night was everything, being with you.”
This was it. He was open, and if I wanted to ask, this was the time.
My heart raced. “Pack, can I?—”
A sharp knock on the door made us both jump.
“The hell was that?” Pack muttered.
There was another knock, followed by a bright voice. “Room service.”
