"Then what do you want?" His voice rose. "You wanted me to ask first—I'm asking now—"
Her body moved before the rest of her caught up. Her palm hit his chest, sending him back half a step before she even realized she'd done it.
"You're not asking. You're telling me you want to ask." Her hands gestured like she was trying to physically grasp the right words. "A relationship is a conversation. Both people get to speak. Both people get heard. You don't declare feelings at someone and wait to see if they approve the merger."
Killian stared at her. His jaw working. "I don't know how else to do this."
"Then figure it out. Because I'm not doing the thing where I mold myself around whatever shape you've decided works best."
The words hung between them.
"The last thing I want," Killian said, voice breaking, "is to do the same thing to you. Make you smaller. Make you fit."
"But I don't know how else to do this, I don’t know how to want something without trying to take it. I don’t know how to ask without already writing the next five steps in my head.”
Shoulders tight. Jaw locked. His voice cracked on the last word.
She was still angry. Still frustrated. But she also wanted him. Had wanted him since the supply closet. Since his mouth onhers, his hand at her waist, the way he'd looked at her like she mattered.
The wanting didn’t fix it. But it was there. Insistent.
She should have turned away. Instead, her body surged ahead of her decision.
She closed the distance between them. Grabbed his shirt and pulled him down and kissed him hard.
Killian groaned and his hands were immediately on her hips, pulling her against him like he'd been holding back and finally got permission to stop.
April’s teeth dragged his lower lip between hers in warning. He tasted like champagne and distilled want. Killian groaned into her mouth, and she felt it vibrate through her chest.
His hands slid down her body, rough palms skating over silk, before gripping her ass with both hands. Her fingers twisted into his shirt, yanking at the buttons until they popped loose one after another, clattering to the floor.
Her pulse hammered between her legs, insistent. She shoved the shirt off his shoulders, baring warm skin and muscle. Killian’s mouth found her throat. Teeth dragging against delicate skin. Her head fell back with a gasp, spine arching to give him more.
His breath was uneven, crashing against her collarbone as he pressed open-mouthed kisses there.
His fingers found her zipper. One sharp tug and the emerald silk slid down her body and pooled around her ankles with a whisper.
Killian’s eyes devoured her memorizing every detail.
April reached for his belt. Metal clinked.
He caught her wrists and spun her.
Her back hit the wall with a thud, air knocked from her lungs in a short rush. His mouth was on hers again, all tongue and teeth, no finesse now. Her nails scraped against his shoulders.The wall was cool against her bare back. His body pinned her in place. She hooked one leg around his hip, pulling him closer. Killian ground against her, hips moving with precision that made her knees buckle. A gasp ripped from her throat. Her nipples pebbled sharply against lace. She clenched on nothing, fabric friction driving her body frantic.
His hand slid up her thigh, skin to skin, dragging under the lace with the slow intention of a man who wanted her to feel every inch
Her nails dug in. His name tore from her in a breathless whisper she couldn't stop.
His fingers brushed through her folds, slick, hot. His whole body stilled for one second. “Fuck,” he breathed into her neck.
She rocked into his hand, searching for friction. Her body already climbing. Her thighs shook with tension.
His other hand tangled in her hair, tightening until her head tilted back, baring her throat. He watched her face as his thumb languidly circled her clit.
She shuddered.
The pressure built fast, too fast, every pass of his thumb building the pressure.
