Page 35

The real risk was if he waited. Then his next kiss might not be with this incredible woman. The one standing directly before him, staring at his mouth. Not unlike how he was staring at hers, contemplating the texture of her lips, the feel of them, thinking, debating, a captive to uncertainty and forgotten yearnings.

Now she took a step toward him, and Bradley dropped any pretense that he was in control of anything in this moment. She controlled it all.

Devra was nearer now. Near enough that he could reach out and touch her. So he did, settling his hands on her waist, cradling that exposed skin between hip bone and ribs. She felt soft under his fingertips, but her gaze was fierce. One of his hands rose to cup her cheek, a thumb brushing her cheekbone before circling around to her mouth. Her lower lip was full but gently cracked, chewed and nibbled, her inner worries written in the creases of her skin. He wanted to kiss those worries away, smooth her rough edges with his tongue.

She pressed against him, and his lower body went rigid. He dipped his head, moving slowly, giving her a chance to stop this, to pull away. When she didn’t, he pressed his lips to hers.

Gentle at first, and so very satisfying, he quickly gave in to his arousal. His mouth grew ravenous. Starved and finally fed. Her lips met the fervour of his. Pressing, tasting, wanting. A soft moan escaped her lips, causing his cock to twitch with want. His tongue sought out hers, an exploration turned into a frenzy, like they both needed more, and there would never be enough. Never enough drink. Never enough of her. Her mouth. Her taste. Thoughts sped through his mind, jumbled. Hardly thoughts at all, really. More like sensations. And he wanted more. Wanted all of it. One of his hands moved upward from her waist, cupping the curve of her breast, a thumb grazing across her nipple. And she moaned again. No, she purred. A hum of pleasure. Sweet and exhilarating.

Crack!

The loud popping snapped Bradley’s brain back into place. They both froze, his ears zeroing in on a faint tinkling that followed, coming from another room.

“I think a light bulb just exploded,” he murmured against her lips.

“I…” Devra remained stiff in his arms.

“Don’t worry, it happens more often than you’d think.” His mouth tried to find hers again, but Devra slid out of their embrace, and he almost fell over.

“We can’t do this,” she said.

“It was probably just a defective bulb.”

“No, that’s not…”

“I’ll help you clean it up.”

“No.”

“Oh.”

She rubbed her hands over her face.

“Listen, Devra, I’m sorry if I—”

“Don’t.”

“But—”

“I can’t.”

“But—”

He kept trying to speak, not entirely sure what he planned to say, but it didn’t matter since she kept cutting him off.

“I can’t do this. I thought I could. I want to. But it isn’t safe. Light bulbs don’t just randomly explode. Slabs of snow don’t just fall from the sky the second you dare to make a change. Friendship from a distance was one thing. But this? This? It’s too big a risk.”

She seemed to be talking nonsense, but the terror in her expression told him it wasn’t. Whatever she was trying to say, however strange it sounded to him, was important to her.

“Slow down,” he said. “Please. What is it you’re so afraid of?”

She lifted her head. “This isn’t going to end well.”

“We’ve only just started…whatever this is, and you’re already thinking about the end?”

“You don’t understand.”

“I know. But I want to.”