“You made it easy,” I muttered.
He snorted. “Thanks.”
“You flirted with everything that moved.”
James blinked, then gave a self-deprecating smile. “It’s what I know. Or it was.”
He reached for the toolbox to hand me a screwdriver, his fingers brushing mine. “I wasn’t always like that. I just… I got good at pretending.”
I glanced up at him. His usual armor was down. No wink. No smug grin. Just those soft brown eyes watching me like he was waiting to be seen.
“I don’t hate you,” I said, quieter now.
James tilted his head. “That so?”
“Yeah. You just make me… frustrated,” I admitted.
“Oh, I definitely take that as a compliment.”
I huffed a laugh and finished screwing the panel back on. “Try it now.”
He hit the button. The espresso machine rumbled to life with a satisfying whirr.
“Look at that,” James said. “You really are good with your hands.”
“James,” I warned.
“What?”
“Don’t.”
He was smiling. But he stepped closer.
I could’ve moved. I could’ve told him this wasn’t a good idea. But I didn’t. I stayed right there, heart kicking up, my bear wide awake under my skin, watching James like he was already his.
James looked at me like I was something rare. Like he wanted to unwrap every grumpy layer and find the soft center I swore I didn’t have.
“Do you want to kiss me again?” he asked, voice low, a whisper between us.
I didn’t answer.
He stepped even closer, hands brushing my sides. “Because I want to kiss you.”
My restraint snapped. I grabbed his waist, yanked him in, and kissed him hard. No hesitation this time. No guilt. Just heat and hunger and something deep and rising that felt likemine.
James made a noise against my mouth, one I felt all the way down. His hands clutched my jacket, pulling me in like I was oxygen and he’d been starving.
I pushed him back against the counter, our bodies flush, mouths greedy.
His thigh slid between mine again. My hands gripped his hips, possessive. I didn’t just want him. I wanted him to know he belonged to me.
His breath hitched. “Rafael…”
“I’m not sharing you,” I growled against his lips.
“Who said I wanted to be shared?”
His grin was wicked and soft all at once, and it made something fierce twist in my chest.
