“Aren’t we too old for this game?” she almost whispers.
“I guess I like it after all.”
“You cheated,” she says, barely audible.
I lean a little closer to her and lift my hand slowly, giving her all the time in the world to pull away.
When I reach her neck, I graze her skin upward, goosebumps rising under my touch until my fingers find her jaw. I keep my hand there, fingers slipping into the hair behind her ear.
Her eyes flutter shut for a second and when she opens them, she looks terrified. And still she doesn’t move.
“If you don’t want to,” I murmur, my thumb touching the corner of her lips, “tell me now. I’ll stop.”
She swallows, lips parting under my touch. Her gaze drops to my lips and stays there, saying nothing.
That’s it. That’s all I need.
I lean in slowly, until the tip of my nose brushes hers. I can feel her breathing speeding up against my mouth.
For a heartbeat we just hover there, sharing the same air, my forehead resting against hers. Something inside me is about to snap, yet I still feel a need to give her time to push me away.
Instead, she tilts her chin up, closing that last inch between our lips.
Her lips meet mine in the softest, careful brush, like she’s just testing what I feel like.
She’s so warm, hesitant in the most adorable way.
My body goes still. I barely move, I just press back gently, tasting the sweetness of her breath.
For a second it’s almost innocent, just the faintest frisson. I can feel her mouth curve into the slightest smile and something in me shifts—sharper, bolder. I slide my hand from her jaw to the back of her neck, my fingers sinking into her skin, pulling her closer, erasing the last bit of space between us.
The kiss turns deeper, her mouth parting just enough to let me in. She presses up on her toes, her free hand fisting in the front of my T-shirt, holding on like she doesn’t want to go anywhere. I can’t stop my other hand from circling around the small of her back and pressing her to me more, maybe too much.
She exhales into my mouth, almost like a silent gasp.
Fuck.
Her breath quickens against my mouth, her hand gripping my neck. There’s this terrifying, dizzy rush under my skin, like I want to pull her closer and closer until there’s no space left between us.
I’m holding myself back with every bit of self-control I have, and it still doesn’t feel like enough. She’s in my hands, on my mouth, breathing into me—I’m done for.
She sinks her fingers in my hair, gripping it while our tongues meet and a soft moan escapes her throat, barely audible, but I hear it.
It sends me a little over the edge and I press her body so tight to me I might be suffocating her. She doesn’t fight it. I kiss her more, deep, our tongues touching, my fingers gripping her hair tighter, unable to let go.
I lift her up and slam my back against the door behind me. She gasps over my mouth when we hit the door, her fingers clutching at my neck, burying in my skin now.
It feels like I’m afraid someone’s about to rip her away from me, like this is the only chance I’m ever getting. Every time her lips part for me, something sharp flashes through me.
She tastes so good. Too good to wake up from this.
I slow down, but I can’t make myself let go. I drag my mouth from her lips to the corner of her mouth, the edge of her jaw, back again, greedy and completely gone.
She lets out another tiny sound, like half a smile, half a breathless whimper, and it just makes everything worse. Or better. Whatever this is.
Her fingers slide from my neck to my shoulders, bunching up the fabric of my T-shirt like she needs me closer even though there’s no space left between us.
“Kasien,” she breathes into my mouth, my name breaking apart on her lips and it’s sending the heat down my spine again.
