Page 103 of Every Beautiful Mile

“So,” I say.

“So,” he echoes.

I look up at the night sky.

Do you want to come inside?

I can’t get the words to come out of my mouth. They are trapped in my throat by bars made of fear.

His hands settle on my hips, and it feels like a surge of electricity.

“Penelope…” His mouth hovers over my jaw. “You take my breath away in that dress.”

My thighs clench together on reflex, and some kind of garbled sound comes out of my mouth.

He laughs against my skin and grazes the side of my neck with his tongue.

Holy hell.

“Ethan.” I press my hands against his chest. “You are about to burn down the damn neighborhood with your mouth!”

I push him away. “I’m going to invite you in, but I’m still mad at you, so there will be no funny business tonight.”

Unfortunately.

“Define funny business.” His fingers dance across my shoulders as I fumble to unlock the door.

“I will not be naked, and you will not be naked, for starters.”

I flick the light on as we walk inside.

“According to the way your body behaves, I don’t need to get you naked.”

My body purrs.

No.

“And none of that. No comments that make me feel like there’s lava in my underwear.”

Every word I say is the opposite of what I want.

He raises his eyebrows. “Lava in your underwear, Nel?”

“You know exactly what I’m saying. Deal? Or you can leave and see if I decide to show up in your little restaurant again.” I cross my arms as we stand inside the doorway.

My body may want to do very dirty things to him, but I need him to prove something to me. That he wants to stay. That he knows how to stay.

He takes a step closer. “I’ll be on my best behavior. I won’t even touch you.”

I hope he’s lying.

“Perfect. Grab a beer, and I’ll go get changed.”

Before either of us can change our minds, I walk out of the room and up the stairs.

Much to my dismay, my brain wins the battle against my vagina’s best efforts.

Thirty-nine

---