ted wit

tares that lingered just a br

oments we kept pretending were harmless. I'd invited him in after dinner-not thinking, not planning.

uiet. Still.

uldn't l

he said, but

replied, but I

to convince himself this wasn't what it was. "

ttering in my throat.

, as if giving me every chanc

ely above a whisper. "You don'

th, then back to my eyes.

ready

second, not

rushing the side of my face like I was something fragi

ering shut for just a moment. When

," he said, his

t," I w

was all

h the kind of gentlen

w-devastatingly slow. Like he wanted to feel ever

er back. He pulled me closer inch by inch, until our bodies ali

e certain. My hands found his shoulders, then the

outh, and the sound made something

forehead resting against mine. "You

reathless.

in each other, in the hush

ps parted mine with aching patience, and every brush of

, just enough to feel skin. His muscles ten

en he

-his pupils dark, his expression torn be

gain, softer now. "

ugh every part of me

just... I don't want this to be a flash. I don't want to wake

said, steady. "T

ke he needed to memorize it. "Still... I

felt like peeling away from som

was hard to tell. "You're dangerous," he said, half-laugh

" I teased, leaning jus

owed in chall

e," I wh

e gav

ne mor

ough to leave

ardness. No rush. Just the heavy awarenes

issing my forehead, his hand lingering a

or behind him, I leaned

me like I was the only th

ether that terrified

be