Page 15 of Secret Gifts
“That’s not usually me. I don’t like a whole lot of unnecessary conflict. I don’t know why I even did anything at all. I should have just kept walking.”
“There’s nothing wrong with standing up for yourself,” he says with a shrug, his laughter tapering off. “I was planning on saying something when you weren’t in the room with him anymore. I just wasn’t going to let you overhear me and get mad at me for interjecting.”
I smile again, and it’s so large I have to look away to hide it.
“I didn’t see you in there,” I say to deter the conversation as we continue climbing up every flight of stairs.
“I know. I’m good at that,” he says smugly.
“What? Skulking in a dark corner?” I tease, and he laughs again while leading me to the top floor of the beautiful sea of green life.
“No, being invisible. I told you I’m not very social.”
No, but you’re damn sexy.
Those pale eyes draw me in, begging me to fall into those soft, cool arms, and if I knew for certain he wouldn’t push me away, I’d pull him down to meet my lips right now before letting him have his way with me on the hard floor of the greenhouse.
I would love to feel those lips on my skin, and I wouldn’t mind showing him how a hybrid feels from the inside.
He coughs suddenly, and he trips over a barely-there incline as the floor shifts upward ever so slightly. I laugh a little at his stumble, and his cheeks redden from the embarrassing display.
“You okay?” I chuckle out.
He shakes his head while fighting an enigmatic grin, and then he motions for me to walk in front of him.
“I don’t want to go first. You might trip and fall on me next time,” I playfully poke.
Of course, if he landed on me that could lead to something, so maybe I will go first.
His reddening cheeks grow darker, and then he urges me to go in front of him as he coughs out again.
“You know, you blush a lot, Lieutenant Ericson,” I teasingly add to mock his earlier remark to me.
“Only when I almost bust my ass in front of a very confusing girl,” he grumbles from behind me as I make my way through the narrow aisle that is lined with the full leaves of beautiful green plants.
“How am I confusing?” I muse while running my fingers over the first few beauties that are poking out from their perches.
“So, so many ways,” he sighs out with a bit of strain, and I tilt my head curiously while halting my stride.
“Why are we in here?” I ask softly while leaning against one of the railings.
My hips are just inches away from his hands, and visions of him jerking me to him sprawl out in my mind as vividly as if they’re real.
“I need plants for my new apartment,” he says with his body stiffening to a rigid posture.
“Okay, so you’re staying here for a while?”
No, please say no. I’m already planning ways to fuck you right now. It’s just a matter of time before I do if you stay!
He leans too far as his eyes widen, and he falls over the railing while knocking several plants from their perch and shattering their fragile pots. I laugh wildly, to the point tears almost breach my eyelids, and I quickly stop before the acid burns through my contacts.
“Damn it,” he gripes while standing up and dusting himself off.
“What the hell?” I giggle out.
“That railing is loose,” he lies while continuing to remove the dirt and grit from his once white shirt.
I smile as I move around to join him, and I start helping him clear off the destroyed fragments of ceramic that are also stuck to him. My hands move over his stomach to knock off a clump of dirt, and his breath hitches when my fingers skim the top of his jeans.
