Easton’s eyes darkened. “Your mouth is a weapon.”
I should have hated that he caught the change. I did hate it, mostly. There was something about the way he said it, low and steady, that felt less like he was proud of himself and more like he had just watched me step behind glass.
I folded my arms beneath my chest. “Do you ever get tired of pretending you’re quiet because you’re deep and not because you’re just emotionally constipated?”
His mouth twitched. “That one took effort.”
“I’m gifted.”
“I’m starting to see that.”
“No, you’re starting to think you see things, which is worse.”
He faced me fully, firelight catching one side of his face and leaving the other in shadow. “I don’t need to know everything to know when someone’s lying.”
My pulse kicked.
“Careful,” I said again, softer this time.
He stepped closer, and the space between us changed so fast my body noticed before my brain gave permission. “You say that like you want me to stop.”
“I do.”
“No, you don’t.”
My laugh came out breathless enough to piss me off. “Arrogant.”
“Right now? Yeah.”
“Men who admit that are usually insufferable.”
“Men who hide it are worse.”
“That sounded like a line.”
“It wasn’t.”
“It worked like one.”
His eyes dropped to my mouth.
The lake moved behind me, soft and black, while the bonfire lit his skin gold. I had kissed Easton before, once on the Hockey House porch, reckless and too good and stupid enough that I spent the next week pretending I didn’t remember the exact pressure of his hand at the back of my neck.
This felt different because there was less of an audience, less party around us, and less of an excuse.
The dark water was behind us, the fire at our backs, and my bikini left too much skin available to the air andhis eyes. His body was close enough that I could see the fine pellets of sand still clinging near his collarbone, and my entire personality had apparently forgotten it had objections.
“You’re thinking too hard,” he said.
“I’m thinking the right amount.”
“About leaving?”
“About whether you’re worth me staying.”
His gaze sharpened. “And?”
“And you keep talking, which is not helping your case.”
