My stomach jumps.
She lets out a trembling breath. “I want you,” she whispers, her words drenched in desperate need. “You quiet the noise in my head. When I’m with you, I’ve never felt safer. You make me feel everything, and I was scared of that for a long time, but I don’t want to be. I’m falling for you, Chase. I have been for a long time. And I’m ready now.”
My brave fucking girl.
“I’m falling for you too, Erin,” I say, not wanting to scare her off by telling her I’m already so fucking far gone for her.
“I’m sorry it took me so long to say it. I just needed a minute.”
I scoot forward and cup her face. “You don’t ever have to be sorry for that, baby.”
“So, would it be okay if I kissed you?”
My lips lift into a smirk. “You have no idea how much I’d love that.”
“Okay,” she whispers, shuffling closer. Her diaphragm rises and falls, each inhale and exhale so close I can almost hear the thud of her heartbeat.
“Take your time.”
Her eyes fall shut. Then she leans in closer. I don’t even blink, too afraid I’ll miss one of the best moments of my life.
Her breath fans across my face, and then I feel them, her perfect honey lips on mine. A rush of control surges up my spine, begging me to take over. But I hold my ground, giving her space to lead.
She pulls back, everything in me unraveling when she whispers, “Show me.”
My hands cup her cheeks, tilting her head back as I capture her lips again. I lick at the seam of them. Ever so slowly, they part for me, granting me access. The first brush of her tongue against mine wakes up my whole body. When she moans, it takes everything in me not to lay her down.
I pull back, forcing air into my lungs. She opens her eyes and flashes me that damn dimple of hers. I’m gone all over again.
“Damn, baby.” My voice is hoarse.
“Yeah,” her lips pull into a grin, “I wouldn’t be totally mad if we kept doing that.”
“Wouldn’t hear me complaining.” I gaze into her eyes. “How’s the noise?”
“So quiet,” she whispers. “I like it.”
For a long beat, neither of us moves. The world stills, settling into this peaceful state.
“I was so scared of this,” she murmurs.
“Of me?”
“Of mewithyou,” she admits. “I was scared that if I let you close enough that all the parts of me I’ve tried to hide would untangle themselves.”
“You don’t ever have to hide from me, Erin,” I whisper.
Vulnerability swims in her pretty eyes. And then she gives me a look that says she believes me.
“I missed you, baby.”
“I missed you, too. And I promise I’m not going anywhere. I want a second date. A third date. I want all your dates. I want to be yours.”
I chuckle. “Baby, you’ve always been mine. And you always will be.”
I kiss her forehead, and her eyes flutter closed, soaking in the moment.
“Stay for a while?”
