Daltyn exhales hard.
The sound shoots straight through me.
His forehead drops briefly against my stomach like the touch itself loosened something inside him.
My chest aches.
Suddenly, this no longer feels temporary.
It feels real.
Dangerously real.
Slowly, he lifts his head again.
Our eyes lock, and the entire room shifts.
My pulse stumbles as my fingers caress the stubble on his jawline.
Slowly, I lean down and kiss him.
It’s tentative for half a second before his hand tightens instinctively against my hip.
Heat surges through me.
Daltyn deepens the kiss. He kisses like he plays hockey. Focused and intense. Like he forgets the rest of the world exists once he commits.
My fingers tighten in his hair as his mouth moves against mine.
His exhales become my inhales, and vice versa.
“Peyton,” he says roughly against my lips.
The sound of my name in his voice nearly melts my spine.
I kiss him harder, desire coiling through me.
And this time?
He makes a low sound in his throat that goes straight between my legs.
God.
I pull back just enough to look at him.
His pupils are blown wide now. Chest rising faster. Hands flexing against my hips like he’s trying very hard to stay controlled.
That shouldn’t affect me this much. But it does.
Especially because I realize something in that moment.
I want this.
Slowly, I slide downward, hitting my knees.
Daltyn stills. “Peyton.”
There’s a warning in his voice, along with something that sounds like disbelief.
