Page 44 of So Right
Her hands slipped down his neck and clutched at his collar. She pulled him closer and twined her hands around his nape. Then she angled her head and opened her mouth. That was the invitation he’d been waiting for. The fantasy he’d been dreaming of.
He thrust his fingers into the sleek softness of her hair as her tongue danced against his. Sensations exploded—her scent filling his nostrils, the sound of his heartbeat thundering in his ears, the spark of heat igniting inside him, the feel of her body pressed along his.
He kissed her like he hadn’t been kissed in years. And he hadn’t—not like this. It was like unwrapping a present he hadn’t asked for. A gift he hadn’t known he wanted, and yet suddenly didn’t think he could live without.
She arched against him. Desire pulsed through his veins, heightening his arousal. He wanted to ask if he could take her upstairs when someone wolf-whistled from across the street.
She pulled away, bringing her hand to her mouth as she presented her back to the street. Her cheeks were flushed, her gaze fixed on her door.
“Can I walk you up?” His voice was deeper than normal. More primal.
“No.” She swallowed as she turned to face him, her eyes glazed and maybe a bit…wild. “I had a great time tonight. Truly. I…I like kissing you. I’m attracted to you. But—” She turned back toward the building and inhaled slowly before exhaling just as slowly. She did this two more times, as if it were some sort of breathing exercise.
Then she pivoted back again, looking slightly calmer—more serene—than she had a moment before. “I don’t think I can do this. I’m not ready.”
“Do what?” He wanted to be clear. “I have all the patience in the world.”
She shook her head. “It’s more than…that. It’s everything. I’m not ready for a relationship.”
“Then we’ll be friends for now. Or forever. If that’s what you want. I’m here to stay, Kelsey.”
“What if I don’t want you to?” The question was low and stark, and it sliced into him like the sharpest, most well-aimed knife.
He sensed she needed a very specific answer to that. An answer that would give her the freedom she needed. That she deserved. He could only imagine the hell she’d gone through, and damn it, he wanted to understand. But now wasn’t the time to ask for that—and it might never come. “Then I’ll go.”
She stared at him another moment, blinking, before turning to unlock the door and fleeing upstairs. He stood there and stared at the closed door.
And then he did what he said he’d do—he left.
