“Hard not to think about it when you’re looking at my mouth like…” A lovely flush sweeps across her skin and the heaviness of the air around us crackles with a new blast of electricity.
But it’s still important to listen to her words and not just read her body language. “I’m sorry if I make you uncomfortable.”
“I didn’t say that.” Her eyelashes sweep against her rosy cheeks. A slow blink, but then she meets my gaze again. “I trust you, Zane.”
“You’ll never have reason not to.”
“But…” She trembles. I slide my hand to her neck, curling my fingers around the nape. Anchoring her to me as she searches for the right words. And when she finds them, they’re powerful. “I don’t know if I can imagine being in a bed with a man again. So you might be wasting your time.”
“I’m not. It’s my time, and I promise I’m spending it exactly as I want to.” Silent fury rips through me at what her ex stole from her. “I don’t look at you because I expect anything. I look at you because you’re beautiful, and looking is a joy in and of itself.”
I haven't let myself want someone this much in a very long time, maybe ever. I’ve never had to think this carefully, this long, about what my desire would mean, who it would impact.
She thinks we’ve only just met, but from my vantage point, I’ve analyzed holding her in my arms from every possible angle already. And all of those hedging thoughts were wrong.
I knew she was off-limits. I knew I wanted her anyway, would want her from afar if that was all I could have. All I should have.
But I miscalculated one important factor—how much Hope might want me back. She’s not warning me off because she doesn’t share my desire, she’s trying to warn me that she can’tallowherself that desire.
Which is bullshit, but I’m not going to rush her to that discovery.
We’ll stick with some safe first steps. “Do you like looking at me?”
Startled, she smiles. “Yes. You’re captivating.”
“What a nice thing to say to me. Thank you.”
She laughs.
I return her smile. “We make each other laugh, don’t we?”
She nods, a little reluctantly. “We do.”
“That’s a good starting point. And we have some chemistry, but there’s no pressure there.”
Her gaze drops to my mouth and she bites her lip.
“What are you thinking right now?”
“Wondering what your moustache feels like,” she admits freely.
“It might tickle.”
She jolts a little in my arms. Her eyes are wide and curious as she slides her gaze back up to meet mine. “Really?”
“There’s one way to find out. No strings attached.”
She sighs with longing. “A kiss…”
My girl might be bruised and scared, but she’s full of longing. Nobody’s treated that passion right, I bet, and that’s a terrible shame. “Any time you want, Hope. You can have all the kisses you want. No expectations. I know you don’t want more than that, but you look at my mouth like you might want…”
She exhales as she reaches up between us and drifts her fingertips against my mouth. Over my lower lip, then my moustache. A shiver races over my skin as she moves the neatly trimmed hairs. “Just a kiss?”
“Just a kiss sounds pretty fucking amazing.”
She hesitates a beat before her fingers slide around the back of my neck as she stares at my mouth.
It’s yours. I’m yours.But I say nothing, I do nothing. I hold still, barely breathe. Being good and patient for her.
