Page 25 of Wild Desire

He raised a brow. "Were you jealous?"

"I had a crush on you. You already know that." I stirred the veggies. "I kissed you."

Killian stepped closer to me. "For how long?"

I couldn't meet his gaze because it had always been him for him. I'd watched him interact with his brothers long before his father asked if I wanted to take snowboarding lessons. "I don't remember."

"But what about after the kiss?"

I looked up at him then. "Are you asking if I still had a crush on you?" At his nod, I continued, "That would have been silly, don't you think? You weren't interested. I moved on."

He let out a breath. "You didn't give me a chance to say anything."

My cheeks heated. "What would you have said?I don't like you that way." I shook my head. "No, thank you. It was humiliating enough back then. But I got over you."

Something passed across his face. Was it disappointment?

"Can you grab the bowl of chicken?" I needed him to give me space. He was standing too close and seeing too much. I felt splayed open, even though we were talking about something that happened years ago. The emotions, the feelings, were bubbling to the surface, and it felt like it had happened yesterday.

Killian complied, dumping the strips into the pan.

I added seasoning, then covered it. I grabbed a water bottle from the fridge, letting the cool liquid sooth my dry throat.

"I'm sorry I didn't handle it better back then."

I shrugged. "You don't have to apologize."

"I could have reacted better. I could have said something. Anything."

I rolled my eyes. "What could you have said? Either you wanted to kiss me back, or you didn't."

"I never thought of you as anything more than a friend. That kiss took me by surprise."

I didn't want to have this conversation. "We don't have to talk about this anymore. It wasn't something I wanted to remember."

"I was a stupid kid back then. I chased the popular girls, wanting their attention, and then when I got it, it felt hollow."

I shook my head. "That's what high school is about, exploring what we want and who we are."

"Yeah, I guess so."

I hit Play on my favorite list on my phone. I wanted to change the subject. "You're off the hook. It wasn't a big deal."

"It kind of seems like it was."

For me, it was. Not for him. He moved on and lived his dreams. "I promise you; it wasn't. Everyone's dating past is littered with mistakes. That kiss was mine."

He grimaced. "I don't like it being characterized as a mistake."

I turned the music up higher and danced to the upbeat song.

Killian cocked a brow. "You want to dance?"

I would do anything to get him off the topic of that kiss. I held my hand out to him, but he shook his head.

"I can't dance on this knee."

I swayed closer to him, dancing around him. I let the music take over my body.

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