Page 108 of Scrum Heat

Before I can say anything, she walks straight up to me and wraps her arms around my waist. Her face presses to my chest without hesitation, and her scent sinks into my skin immediately.

Something inside me unclenches, and I hold her tighter without even thinking.

“You okay?” I ask, voice low.

She tilts her face up, cheek still against my shirt.

“I smelled cinnamon,” she says. “And emotional damage. Thought I’d check you weren’t baking yourself into a nervous collapse.”

I swallow. “Definecollapse.”

She smiles, then glances at the tray. “Are those lemon and poppy seed?”

“Potentially.”

She reaches for one and takes a bite, then moans. Actuallymoans.

I forget how to stand.

She finishes it in four blissful bites, licks icing sugar off her thumb, and looks up at me through her lashes like she hasn’t just committed a crime.

I cough. “Do you—uh. Want me to walk you back up?”

She lifts a brow. “Back to my room?”

“Just to yourdoor,” I amend quickly. “Unless you wanted—unless you—”

She reaches out and laces her fingers through mine.

“I want.”

Well.

Thatshort-circuits my brain.

Brain: fried. Body: toast. Dough: forgotten.

I squeeze her hand and lead her up the stairs. We stop outside her room, and she opens the door slowly, smirking as she looks over her shoulder.

“You coming in?”

I blink. “I—uh—are you sure?”

She rolls her eyes, but it’s fond. “Finn.”

“Right. Yes. Coming in. Entering the omega zone.”

She shuts the door behind us, then toes off her slippers as I hover awkwardly.

“I meant what I said,” she murmurs. “Back there. About choosing you. All of you.”

I nod, steadying my voice. “And I meant what I said about not losing you. Not ever.”

Something flickers in her eyes, then she steps closer. Close enough that I feel the warmth of her body before she even touches me, that I can see the freckles on her nose and the way her lashes flutter when she blinks.

My hands lift and settle at her waist. Her breath catches, and then her fingers slide into my hair, gentle but sure.

Her nose brushes mine, and I close the distance.

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