“You know it isn’t December yet, right?” I ask, smirking at her.
“I have to get my money’s worth.”
She got her money’s worth, or maybe I am the one getting her money’s worth. The thermal-style pjs with tiny candy canes scattered all over hug her toned frame like a glove. The pattern might be ridiculous, but she still looks divine.
“Are you leaving?” Her question catches me off guard because I was so focused on her outfit. She must have noticed because when my eyes roam back up to her face, she’s smirking at me.
Sue me.She is fucking beautiful in whatever the hell she wears.
“Another guy is on his way, so I’m almost done for the night.”
“They can come in here. I don’t want anyone out in the cold, especially at night,” she says, glancing over to the windows where I’ve been holed up all night.
“No,” I say a little too quickly. “He’ll be in his truck. He’ll be fine.”
I don’t know how I would feel if it was Kane or Wyatt, but I definitely don’t want Duke in here. He’s a great guy, but the thought of him being here makes jealousy course through me.
Even though I have no right to feel this way, I can’t push the thought away.
She nods but doesn’t seem convinced. I step forward, tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. It happens before I really even think about it.
Then I let my hand linger on the side of her face, instead of letting it fall to my side like I should. I really shouldn’t be touching her at all, but I’m committed at this point.
The way she’s staring up at me, with those wide, pleading eyes that remind me of burnt sugar syrup drizzled over homemade waffles, makes me forget everything else besides her.
Her hand slides up over my abs and chest, gripping two fistfuls of my jacket. I lean in until her mouth is just an inch from mine.
She licks her lips, and I want nothing more than to slide my own tongue over the same path.
My phone rings. The volume isn’t really that loud, but in this quiet bubble she and I are trapped in, it sounds almost deafening.
We both stumble back from one another as I pull out my phone.
“Hi,” I say a little breathlessly, when I really have no reason to be lacking oxygen. It isn’t like I just ran five miles or anything.
I just nearly kissed a beautiful woman. That’s all.
“I’m here,” Duke says in his matter-of-fact tone.
“I’ll be out in a minute,” I say, then hang up. “I should go,” I tell Abby, sliding my phone back into my jeans pocket.
“Okay.” It looks like there are a million other things she wants to say, but she settles for the single word.
“Thanks for letting me hang out in here, and for dinner.”
“Of course. Thanks for talking to Mav about all his nerdy stuff.”
I smile. “Anytime… I love that stuff.”
She gets a distant look in her eyes, like she’s imagining something far-off… so far it might be in another life. She lets out a heavy exhale.
I turn the knob, glancing back at her. She’s twirling a piece of her dark brown hair around her finger. “Good night, Abby.”
“Night, Linc.”
Riding my motorcycle in this storm is a horrible idea, but I have no other way of getting home. At least I’m not cold. Thoughts of that almost kiss keep me warm until I pull into the garage and the door slides closed behind me.
The same thoughts follow me into bed, where I try not to but find my release with images of her flashing through my mind and her voice saying my name.
