Page 108 of Midnights
I don’t know what it is about the way she’s laying there, so utterly in tune with the storm, but I can’t take my eyes off her.
And here I am, standing in the shadows, watching her.Well, now I just feel like a fucking creep.
“If ye wanted to see the gardens, ye could've just said so earlier.” No point in just standing here like an idiot.
She lets out a startled yelp, and scrambles to her feet. She raises her arm, and there’s something clutched tightly in her hand. She's standing like she’s ready for a fight.
Adrenaline spikes in my veins, and I take a half-step forward. Fight or flight? Which is it, Princess?
But the second she sees me, her muscles relax.
“Oh,it’s just you,” she exhales, lowering her arm. Relief flickers over her face first. Then, instant irritation.
“Why are you sneaking up on people in the middle of the night? You’re lucky I didn’t stab you!”
“Stab me?” I raise an eyebrow, biting back a grin. “With what?”
She’s holding a butter knife. The laugh bursts out of me before I can stop it.
“Princess,” I say, between chuckles. “You’re not going to be hurting anyone with that thing.” I shake my head, trying to keep it together. “You’re better off throwing it, maybe buy yourself a few seconds to run.”
She scowls, and I can see her grip tightening around the useless blade. I'll be damned if it doesn’t make me laugh harder. The visual alone is enough to make my dick instantly hard.
There she is, soaking wet, with water dripping down her hair. Standing in a thunderstorm like she’s some kind of defiant goddess, armed with a butter knife.
Rage flickers through her expression, but it’s gone in an instant.
I can see the exact moment she seriously considers my advice, and I swear to God, she’s about to throw that fucking thing at my head.
“Why are you out here, Kane?” She demands, all sharp edges and suspicion.
“Because I li—”
CRACK.
The sky splits open, and lightning shoots across the sky. It's so close it’s blinding. I clamp my jaw shut, shoving the words back down. As much as I want to come clean, now is not the time.
Her eyes stay locked on mine, waiting. She doesn’t miss a fucking thing.
The way the storm lights up the wildness in her eyes has me completely fucking spellbound. I don’t even try to hide it. There’s no point. She already knows how much I want her. And it doesn’t matter how much I pretend I’ve got a handle on it. I don’t.
She stands there, completely unbothered by the storm, staring at me like she isn’t the most dangerous fucking thing in this moment. She tilts her head, narrowing her eyes slightly, and something unreadable flashes across her face.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
I blink, realizing she just said something. But my head is someplace else entirely. I'm completely fixated on how she looks right now.
Drenched and stunning.
“What?”
My voice comes out rougher than I intended as I take a step closer, but she doesn’t move. She just tilts her head up with every inch I close between us, and I realize just how fucking small she is.
Why does that, of all things, do something to me?
The sound of thunder rumbles like a warning.
Or a fucking dare.
