He pauses mid-bite. “Now as in…?”
“As in us. You and me.”
He leans back on his hands, studying me. “You tell me.”
I chew my lip, thinking. “I don’t know. Everything’s been kind of… fast.”
“It doesn’t have to be,” he says quietly. “I don’t want to rush you.”
“It’s not that.” I meet his eyes. “It’s just I wasn’t planning on falling for anyone, especially not a pro hockey player.”
He laughs again, shaking his head. “Okay. But for the record, I wasn’t planning this either.” His tone shifts, soft but sure. “When I’m with you, it feels easy. I can breathe again.”
My chest tightens. “You mean that?”
He nods. “Yeah. I do.” He reaches across the table, tilting my chin up gently. “You make me want to be better, Rose.”
Something in his voice feels honest. It undoes me completely. I lean in before I can stop myself, and he meets me halfway. The kiss is slow this time, softer than the ones before. It’s not about hunger, it’s about promise. His hand finds the back of my neck, thumb stroking lightly. When we finally pull apart, I can barely breathe.
“That was…” I start.
He smiles. “Yeah.”
We sit there, quiet except for the sound of the water gurgling in the radiator and the rain against the window.
After a while, he stands, stretching. “I want you to stay tonight, if you want to. Spare room’s made up.”
I raise an eyebrow. “That’s awfully polite for a man who kissed me like that.”
He laughs, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m trying to be a gentleman. For once.”
I grin. “You’re doing a terrible job, considering all the things we did on this couch the last time I was here.”
“Good,” he says, stepping close again, voice low. “Because I don’t want to be polite with you.”
My pulse flutters, but I shake my head. “You’re dangerous, Callum Fraser.”
He grins. “You say that like it’s news.” He kisses me again, deeper this time, but still controlled and just enough to remind me that he’s holding back. And that I’m glad he is. Because I want to feel it properly, whatever this is.
He’s standing close enough that I can feel his breath when he speaks. “Rose.” Just my name, but it hits hard. The air thickens with all the things neither of us is saying. His eyes flick down to my mouth, then back up again. I can feel the pull of him.
“Are you going to keep looking at me like that?” I whisper, my voice unsteady and teasing just to hide how hard my pulse is hammering.
He smiles faintly, that slow, crooked grin that’s half trouble, half worship. “Can’t help it.”
I take a step nearer, and the heat from his body wraps around mine. My fingers find the hem of his hoodie, tugging just slightly. “You could try.”
He laughs under his breath, but it dies quickly when I press my hand flat against his chest. His heart beats hard beneath my palm. Mirroring mine. “Callum,” I breathe out.
That’s all it takes.
His hand slides into my hair, his other finding my waist and pulling me flush against him. The first kiss is hungry, the kind that steals all sense. His mouth moves over mine as though he’s been waiting for this since the second he saw me.
I sink into him, my fingers curling in his hoodie, tugging him closer until there’s no space left. His breath catches as I nip at his bottom lip, and he groans, the sound vibrates against my skin.
He backs me gently toward the sofa, hands roaming. My knees hit the edge and we tumble together, laughter spilling out between kisses that turn into something else, something unstoppable. Every touch feels like a question he’s answering with his body:Are you sure? Are you here? Do you want this as much as I do?And I am. I do.
When his forehead rests against mine, both of us breathing hard, he whispers, “Tell me to stop.”
