Page 6 of Wait For You

I was working late after the office had closed when I heard Tessa’s voice. “Okay, I’m just going to stop in the bathroom. Is that okay?”

She must’ve come to meet my sister McKenna for some reason. Her voice was like a crack of lightning just after thunder rumbled through the sky in my nervous system.

I waited for McKenna’s response. “Of course. I have to hurry over to the winery because I told Jack I’d be there already, and I’m late. The doors downstairs lock automatically, so don’t worry about it. I’ll meet you there.”

My pulse lunged, and impatience crackled inside me. I waited for McKenna’s footsteps to disappear down the hallway. The minutes ticked by until I heard Tessa come out of the bathroom.

“Tessa,” I called.

My voice was low, but I hoped it was loud enough for her to hear me. I heard her steps approaching. There was a hesitation in her stride before she stopped in the doorway. She studied me for a moment.

“Adam,” she finally said. “You’re working late.”

My eyes never left hers. I lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I usually do.”

I stood from my desk, then crossed the office and stopped a few feet from her. She stood just inside the door. It felt like a force field began to vibrate between us, the voltage intense and electric.

“Well?” I prompted.

My gruff voice conveyed my frayed control. I didn’t have to be specific. I could tell by the look in her eyes that she knew what I was referring to.

Tessa took a step closer. My fingers itched to reach beyond her and close the door. But this had to be her choice entirely.

Her hand curled over the doorknob before she closed it with a decisive click. A flush rose on her cheeks, and my lungs tightened. Every cell in my body fired.

And still, I waited.

She took another step closer until she was immediately in front of me. My thoughts flicked back to the other night when I’d encountered her in the hallway at the dinner party. It was as if a path had formed between us. Heat and electricity shimmered in the space now.

“Tessa?” I prompted when I saw hesitation flicker in her eyes.

I could feel her take a deep breath when her breasts rose against my chest as she took one more incremental step closer. She lifted a palm, placing it in the center of my chest. There was no doubt she could feel the rapid drumbeat of my heart.

“Oh, good,” she whispered.

“What’s good?”

“Your heart is beating as fast as mine. Maybe.” Her lips kicked up at the corner in a wry half-smile.

“Do you still want a kiss?” I asked.

Her swallowing was audible in the near-total silence of my office. All I could hear was the rush of my own heartbeat and the subtle sound of us breathing.

“More than anything.” Her voice was a raspy whisper.

I was almost trembling when I lifted a hand and brushed one of her loose curls off her cheek to tuck it behind her ear. Her auburn hair was silky soft. I let my fingers slide into it, lightly cupping the nape of her neck.

My eyes were on her wide brown gaze as I dipped my head. Time felt simultaneously suspended and as if racing forward at a breakneck pace.

Her eyes darkened, her lashes sweeping down just as my lips came within a whisper of hers. I brushed over the plush surface of her lips once and then again. I heard her soft sigh followed by her body melting closer to me.

Finally, fucking finally, I angled my head to the side and fit my mouth over hers. Our kiss started slow with a tease of my tongue over the seam of her lips. Our tongues twined together in a lazy tangle when her mouth opened for mine.

I breathed her in, absorbing her scent. The imprint of her soft curves against my body sent electricity sizzling through me. When my fingers tightened in her hair, she let out a sweet little moan in her throat. I took another step, nudging her back until she bumped into the door. I slapped my hand against it, sliding the other over the curve of her shoulder, down along the sweet dip of her waist, and over the generous, lush curve of her hip.

My cock was as hard as a tire iron, burning hot, and nestled in the sweet cradle of her hips. We fit together perfectly. Our kiss went on and on and on, and I felt wild from it by the time we broke apart. My heart pounded in my ears, and my breath came in deep, ragged heaves.

We stared at each other. Her wide eyes were dazed with passion, just as I imagined mine were. I had to claw my way back to thinking, to finding a way to speak.

---