Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 135831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 679(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 679(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
“But we’re not. And you made your point earlier,” she says, lifting her chin, like she’s trying to stay strong even as her tone wobbles. Like she’s hurt. By my point? By Lucas? I’m not sure at all. “Lucas isn’t into me the way you think he should be.”
But I am. And it’s a big problem. “Don’t want to talk about him anymore,” I mutter. “Just let me walk you to the door.”
“Fine,” she says, her palms raised in surrender.
I set my hand on her back again. A slight shiver seems to run through her when I touch her. I try not to let that go to my head. Or my dick.
But as we go, I spread my fingers wider across the silk of her shirt. Press a little harder. Rub a little more. Curl my thumb around her waist. Register every hitch of her breath.
By the time we’re at the top of the steps, my hand feels too right on her back to let go. “I’m not sure I have made my point, Everly.”
She turns to me, facing me, so I have to drop my hand from her back. Her gaze is wary but intrigued, her eyes flickering with questions. “What’s your point exactly?”
“Like I said earlier, if this was a date I’d walk you to the door.”
“But it’s not. You keep telling me it’s not.” It’s like she’s trying to catch me on a technicality, or maybe to push me into admitting something. She doesn’t make a move to go inside. Her gaze is locked on mine, and the air is charged between us. It crackles with anticipation.
“You’re right. It’s not,” I say, weighing how far I’ll go. What it’ll cost me.
She rolls her lips together, then breathes out, like she’s centering herself. “And you did it anyway.”
“True,” I say. Like I could do anything else with her. I couldn’t have stopped myself from showing up at The Spotted Zebra tonight if I’d tried. I couldn’t have resisted driving her home. I couldn’t have refrained from walking her up her steps. Now we’re standing in the warm October air, the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance, the ocean hugging us. And I’m not walking away—not with her closer than she’s ever been. I look at her lush mouth one more time, then her gorgeous eyes. “And if this were a date I’d kiss you at the door.”
She’s quiet, but her lips curve up. “That’s not what you said at the restaurant.”
Wait. I’m confused now. “That is what I said,” I point out.
She crosses her arms, shaking her head, but she’s smiling and it’s flirty. Inviting. “No, Max. You said you’d devastate me with a kiss.”
And that’s it. That’s enough. Just fuck it. Fuck everything. “I guess I’d better start.”
She grabs the collar of my shirt in a challenge. “What are you waiting for?”
20
I HAVE EVERY IDEA
Everly
Max cups the side of my face—but he doesn’t kiss me. He slides his thumb along my jawline, but doesn’t dip his mouth to mine. He steps closer, but still makes no move to capture a kiss.
I’m trapped in the tease of him. I back up against the railing, needing something to steady myself. He moves with me, still staring greedily at my mouth. Then my eyes. “You have no idea,” he mutters.
Those four words rocket through my bloodstream, like a supernova. I’m lit up, sparkling everywhere, and he hasn’t even put me out of my sweet misery.
“No idea what?” I ask, my voice feathery with need, with desire.
“How much I want you.”
I shiver from the confession. “How much?”
He doesn’t tell me. He shows me. He runs the pad of his thumb along my jaw, like he’s memorizing me. Finally, he drops his face closer, but not close enough. I’m caught in the anticipation. His warm breath is like silk over my skin. The vein in his neck pulses. Heat radiates off his strong body.
I close my eyes. It’s so much—his words, his touch, his need. I’m too shivery. Too aroused. I don’t even know what to hold onto. I’ve lost every shred of resistance, so I can’t hold onto that. But when I open my eyes, those blue irises of his are like flames. And I don’t want to hold onto a thing.
I want to let go.
He slides his thumb down to my chin, tilting up my face, like he’s finding the perfect position.
I’ve thought about kissing Max countless times, but I never pictured this. I never imagined he’d take his sweet time. I never expected him to slow burn a kiss.
But he’s killing me as he travels his thumb up to my mouth then runs it along my bottom lip. My breath catches and I whimper. Everything in me aches. “Just kiss me,” I murmur, a quiet demand.
He smiles like a cocky asshole. “Don’t worry. I know you want it.”