Page 62 of Unwritten Rules
“Well, for what it’s worth, you’re incredible at what you do,” he tells me, voice soft. “I mean, all the proof is in my quad after following your plan for nearly a week. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
Warmth spreads across my cheeks and down my throat, seeping into our intertwined hands on my thigh. “You mean that?”
“I mean every word of it.” The confidence in his voice has my heart rate spiking. Sinnett leans forward, capturing my gaze. “You’re amazing, Tate. Don’t allow yourself to think otherwise.”
I drag my bottom lip between my teeth and nod, because that’s all I can manage. I’m afraid that if I speak, the words will fall out in a mush of gratitude.
Sinnett leans down to press a chaste kiss to my hand before releasing it. I miss his warmth already.
“I should get you home.”
I arch a brow at him. “You keen to get rid of me?”
“What? No.” He runs a hand through his hair and sighs. “I don’t want you to leave.”
“Then I won’t,” I say with a shrug. “The night doesn’t have to end here.”
While the comment was meant to be innocent, the hidden meaning isn’t lost on me. Warmth spreads down my throat at the same time the air between us grows thick. Out the corner of my eye, I notice Sinnett watching me, jaw clenched.
What is he thinking?
Was I too forward with my suggestion and now he’s having regrets about last night?
Panic squeezes my chest and throat.
“I-I didn’t mean it like that,” I utter, backpedalling. “I was trying to say?—”
“You don’t want the night to end here?” Sinnett rasps.
I shake my head, unable to find my voice.
He swallows hard. “Neither do I.”
My eyes round at the corners. “You don’t?”
Electricity crackles between us—the same as the night we spent together three weeks ago. I had thought it was because we were about to have a one-night stand and tensions were high, but it hasn’t dissipated since seeing Sinnett again. If anything, it’s only gotten stronger the past two weeks.
Sinnett shakes his head. “I don’t.”
“Then what are we gonna do?” I whisper, throat thick. “Any suggestions?”
He drags his bottom lip between his teeth. Ocean eyes stare back at me from the darkness, holding me hostage. My heart rate spikes at the thought of what could happen next. Was he serious about wanting me last night?
“Whatever you’re thinking, stop,” Sinnett says, voice hoarse. “We don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with.”
I know what he’s saying. If I don’t want to take the next step with him, and cross boundaries we can’t take back, the call is mine to make. But I have no desire to back down now, not when my body is alight with tiny fires and my core has liquified like melted gold.
“I don’t want to stop,” I whisper, blinking slowly. “Do you?”
Sinnett runs a hand through his messy strands. “Christ,no, I don’t want to stop, Tate.”
I lean across the centre console, fuelled by adrenaline and the need to be close to this man, to feel him against me. My lips brush against his as I murmur, “Then don’t stop.”
“Fuck,” he groans, the sound vibrating deep in my bones. “What am I going to do with you?”
I grin. “I think you already know the answer.”
“Yeah,” Sinnett rasps, his hand coming up to rest on my cheek. “I do.”
