Page 87 of Revive Me

“Roman…” Lily says in wonder. She straightens and takes up the place she started with: standing before me, ready to catch me as I fall but giving me a look that says she believes with her whole heart that I won’t. I feel a flicker of disappointment that she doesn’t put her hands on me again, while part of me recognizes that also means another crutch has been taken away that I don’t need.

“Do it again,” she breathes, looking down at my legs.

I take another step, if only to get closer to her before she can back up. Because my eyes aren’t on my legs anymore.

They’re on her.

I both see and hear the sob that bubbles past her lips. So, I take another step, wanting,needingto be closer to her.

And then I take another. And another. And by the time I reach the end of the parallel bars, a tear is running down Lily’s cheek.

“You did it,” she says on a cry, lifting her head to look up at me. “I knew you could, but…”

I shift my weight slightly to make sure I can let go of the bar with one hand, the other one still holding firmly. And I lift my hand to Lily’s face.

“I think I’m ready to carry that hope now,” I whisper.

Her eyes fill with tears all over again, and when another runs down her cheek, I brush it away with my thumb.

And then, I kiss her.

It’s everything and nothing like our kisses before this. She tastes just as sweet, and I want her just as much, but things also feel…different.

I’m not kissing her to feelsomething—I’m kissing her because she’severything.

28

ROMAN

I didn’t kiss her with the intention of escalating things, but there are so many emotions between us that the heat builds on its own. It builds when her hand curls in my shirt, and when my tongue touches her bottom lip. It builds when a breathy moan leaves her lips, and I automatically swallow it with another hard kiss of my own. It doesn’t take long for me to cup the base of her neck and tilt her head so I can slide my tongue into her mouth with a groan.

But after a minute, I pull back, chest heaving as I try to suck in air. I also reach down to grip the parallel bar and steady myself so I don’t sway forward and fall into Lily.

Thankfully, Lily doesn’t read it as a retreat and stays close enough to keep her grip on my shirt. She’s breathing heavily, too.

“I—” I swallow thickly and try again, this time dropping my head forward to touch my forehead to hers. “I want to touch you. Can I touch you?”

She’s nodding before I’ve even gotten the question out. “God, yes. Please.”

A relieved exhale escapes my mouth at her answer. Then I’m taking her mouth in a quick, eager kiss.

She looks dazed when I pull away, and I think I catchherswaying. “Can you…sit?” she asks. “Right here where you are?”

I look down at the soft flooring and nod. Then I slowly, and very carefully, lower myself to the ground, using my grip on the bars to make sure it’s a semi-graceful maneuver. I pull myself over to the wall that the bars are next to and lean my back against it. By the time I’m settled and looking up to see what Lily’s doing, she’s already lowering herself down to straddle me.

My hands immediately go to her waist to pull her closer. “You’re incredible,” I breathe against her mouth, only a moment before I’m kissing her again.

It’s a relief to be able to kiss her like this. I can touch her anywhere, kiss her anywhere, can feel hereverywhere. I can kiss her, reveling in her taste and her eager response, even as my hands travel over her body, touching as much of her as I can—up her sides, down her back, around to her ass.

When I reach her ass, I grip her cheeks with both hands andgroaninto the kiss. My touch becomes a little harder, a little needier. Thankfully, so does her kiss.

With her arms around my neck, she’s already close enough that there’s barely any space between our bodies. But when the desire ignites, her hips start to rock against me.

Instantly, I need more.

Reaching for the bottom of her scrub top, I wait for her hands to go up before I lift the fabric over her head. She’s wearing some kind of sports bra underneath, so I quickly tug that off, too, wanting her naked more than I want to breathe.

The moment I’m face to face with her breasts, another groan rips from my chest.

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