Page 13 of Your Pucking Mom

How wet was I? Staring at the freaking God of a man in front of me, I could’ve turned into a puddle, but the way he said my name had me melting like butter on a hot biscuit.

“Yeah?” I croaked out once I found my voice again. We were shoulder to shoulder, staring at the elevator doors as we took the long ride up to the top.

“I just wanted to say your name again. I can’t believe it’s you. I didn’t think I’d ever see you again, then to be given two more chances? Now I feel like I’m supposed to do something with those chances.”

His fingers hesitated before he reached toward one of my now-limp curls and twisted it between his fingers. “Perfection.”

“Was the person you were talking about at the cafe…me?” I asked, finally putting the pieces of the conversation together.

His hand dropped, but not before his large, rough fingers caressed the side of my face. He was looking at me with such awe, as though I was finally the main character in someone’s story. I’d spent my entire life working to build everyone else up—to get Austin to this point in his life. I grew up with a mother who saw me as a side character in her own narrative, but this man was memorizing me as if he’d never seen a woman before.

“Yes.” His dark, hooded eyes stirred something inside me, a thrilling mix of safety and excitement I’d never experienced before.

I glanced back at the elevator button, watching the floors climb higher. We were seconds away from reaching the top floor. My heart raced as I wondered what my best friend would tell me to do.

All the therapy I’d gone through in my life had me thinking about the concept of opposite action. It meant to do the exact opposite of what my emotions told me to do. I kept thinking about all the trauma that told me men were evil, scary, and generally horrible, selfish humans. My initial emotional reaction to this situation was to run, but I desperately wanted to be better. No, I wanted to do better for myself, for my son, for the new life I’d been given.

Ledger’s arms were folded across his chest as he stared at the elevator doors. His gaze was so intense he could’ve burned a hole through the doors. I leaned to get closer to him, and the moment our shoulders brushed, our heads turned to face each other.

There was no describing the emotion pulsating through the space. The tension was so thick I could have cut it with a knife. His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat, but the moment he dragged his teeth along his bottom lip, I became fucking feral.

Opposite. Action.

“Fuck it,” I said, and it came out in a tone raspier than I’d intended.

As the words escaped my lips, Ledger’s reaction was swift. He turned toward me, seizing my waist and effortlessly twisting so our chests met. A shared breath lingered between us, and I encircled my hands around his neck.

“Fuck it,” he repeated.

The air around us seemed to thicken. Ledger’s hands were firm on my waist.

Our mouths hovered, a whisper away from putting myself first for the first time in my entire life. Time hung suspended as if we were teetering on the edge of a precipice. His eyes locked onto mine, mirroring the silent invitation that passed between us.

With a subtle shift, our lips moved together. His kiss was a whisper, tracing the contours of my lower lip with a tenderness that set my senses ablaze. The subtle friction of our breaths mingled with the tension in the atmosphere, and suddenly, I was falling.

It was as if we were walking on water. The first taste was a revelation, a blend of curiosity and familiarity that sent shivers down my spine. The kiss deepened, a slow descent into uncharted waters, each moment more profound than the last.

My body melted into his as he leaned down, molding two into one. It was so empowering to kiss him. All the control that had been taken away from me eighteen years ago was given back with one breath. He pushed me back against the elevator wall, propped me up on the railing, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. Our lips stayed locked, deepening our kiss further.

A small moan escaped my lips as I dug my ankles into his back.

“Make that noise again, and I won’t be able to stop,” he said in a throaty growl.

I was about to protest, tell him I wanted to keep going, needing his mouth to devour mine, but the elevator dinged open, and he dropped me. I pulled away. The last thing I needed was Austin walking in on his mother kissing his equipment manager or whoever Ledger was to the team.

“I, um…” I got out of the elevator, straightened my jacket, and pushed some rogue curls off my face.

“Don’t,” he said, coming out of the elevator. “Please don’t try to rationalize it or minimize whatever it was we just shared.”

I nodded, because that was exactly what I was going to do. After all these years of being celibate, I wanted to explore things with him, but I was terrified of giving him power over my feelings. It was much easier for me to minimize something, because to most people, I didn’t matter.

“Just two adults who shared a…kiss,” Ledger said.

“I can go.” I turned toward the elevator, shoulders slumping, then he pulled me by my waist back toward him.

“No.” His voice quieted. “Please don’t go. I want to treat you to dinner.”

It wasn’t that I regretted the kiss; I just didn’t want it to lead to places I wasn’t ready for. My hands grew clammy, and my thoughts scattered as he studied my face, his brows drawing together in concern. His presence was warm and safe, grounding me in a way I hadn’t expected.

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