Page 108 of Sawyer
Sliding his hands around her, he edged back a moment and held her eyes. The brilliant green was like spring blooming inside his heart. His heart was so full, so beautifully, achingly full, and it was all because of her.
“So will I,” he murmured as their mouths touched and clung.
For the rest of their lives.
CHAPTER
THIRTY-ONE
Kyle raced up the stairs after someone buzzed him in.
He never should have gone for more champagne. Finding an open liquor store had proven to be a nightmare. He hadn’t gone home because he hadn’t wanted to listen to the silence in the empty house.
Madison hadn’t shown up at the party, and he’d known it was because she was still avoiding him.
That hurt more than anything.
These were her friends too—their Paris roommates—their found family. When he saw her, he planned to have it out with her. Because this was too much. Even for them.
Only when the door to Dean’s apartment opened, Madison was standing there, her heart in her wide golden eyes.
The paper bag of champagne he held slid to the floor. His already racing heart began a painful gallop in his chest as they stared at each other.
“You weren’t here,” she whispered hoarsely.
“Neither were you.”
Her throat moved as she swallowed. Somewhere beyond her, Dean started counting backward.
Ten.
Nine.
Eight.
Kyle couldn’t look away from her. She stood there, dressed in a tight-fitting black dress. Her shoulders were a little bare at the edges, giving him a tantalizing peek of the golden skin he dreamed about.
She was everything he wanted. He loved her like he’d never loved anything. Why didn’t she move? Why didn’t she look away?
But her gaze was as locked to his, as if she couldn’t break its hold either.
The shout of “Happy New Year” filled the air, echoed in French in other apartments throughout the building. The pop of fireworks from the Arc de Triomphe sounded distantly.
The distractions faded. Her pulse began a staccato show in the gorgeous sweep of her neck. He fisted his hands at his sides.
“Kyle—”
There was a question in her voice. He could hear her breath, slightly elevated from the tension between them.
What did she want? Because he knew what he wanted.
Was she waiting for him to make the first move? The quote he’d told Sawyer shot up in his consciousness.Screw it; just do it.If she didn’t want him to kiss her, she would throw up an arm and block him. Madison wasn’t shy, and she was definitely not a pushover.
He couldn’t take the status quo anymore. They were at the breaking point. They both knew it.
He moved in. He waited for her to protest, to ask him what the fuck he was doing, but she just watched him with those beautiful passionate eyes.
She didn’t resist, and she sure as hell didn’t retreat.
Their eyes met, and he was lost. He lifted a hand slowly and touched her cheek, her skin like molten fire. He cupped her neck, testing, holding his breath, waiting.
And then he couldn’t wait any longer.
He kissed her, inhaling her longing gasp as their lips touched. As her body pressed to his, his heart leaped, and everything fell into place.
At long last.
