Page 3 of All Too Well
I stand, moving closer to him. “What does that mean?”
Lachlan turns his head to stare at me. “You should go home, Ainsley. Please.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m piss drunk, and you shouldn’t be out here with me alone.”
“You would never hurt me,” I say, feeling as though I’m missing something.
“That’s not why you should go. It’s not hurt I want to cause.”
Slowly, as though time is in the process of becomingsuspended, something changes. His eyes aren’t full of anger, but something else. Something I’ve never seen. There’s a charge in the air and my stomach drops.
Is he . . . does he . . . want to kiss me?
No. That can’t be.
It’s me who lives in this wild desire-filled haze around him.
Not Lachlan. I’m that annoying brat he had to have tag along when he was with Caspian.
I step back a little, and that look fades just a bit.
“What do you want then?”
“I want things with you I shouldn’t want,” he says aloud.
“What things?” I ask, unsure if he meant to say that.
He steps forward. “You.”
“You want me?” I move back.
“Every fucking minute, and I hate myself for it.” Another step forward.
My stomach tightens a little and I stand my ground. “What if I want you too?”
He shakes his head slightly. “You shouldn’t.”
I don’t know that I’ll ever get a moment like this again. If it’s a dream or a chance or something else, I need to take it. I step to him, pressing my hand to his cheek. “Lachlan.” I say his name with all the love in my heart.
Since I was fourteen, I’ve dreamed of him, wanted him, and never thought there’d ever be a chance for this.
He leans forward, resting our foreheads together. “It never makes sense.”
“What doesn’t?” I whisper, not wanting to break this connection.
“That I can’t have you.”
I suck in a breath, tension rolling through me and settling in my belly.
Instead of pulling away, like I normally would, I shift forward so he has no choice but to look at me. When his dark-brown eyes open, I see the longing there.
I lift my hand and cup his jaw. He doesn’t move, allowingme to touch him in a way I’ve imagined a million times. I think ... I think he wants to kiss me, and heaven knows I want to kiss him.
“You have me now.”
I inch up on my toes, not letting my mind do the talking this time, allowing my heart to lead, and press my lips to his.
