Page 33 of Temptress

Her mouth hung open and she blinked. “Huh?”

I pressed my hands against the door on either side of her head and leaned in, keeping her pinned in place as I drew closer. “I’m sorry.”

Her chest rose and fell with each rapid breath she took, and when she bit down on that plump bottom lip of hers, I nearly lost all control.

“Okay, fine. You’re forgiven. Now back up and let me out.”

She was trying to keep up that bravado, but I could tell I was starting to get to her. It was in the way her pulse thrummed beneath the delicate skin at her neck, in the way she kept clenching and unclenching her fists like she was fighting back the urge to reach out and touch me. Her body trembled and her eyes kept darting to my mouth just like it had that night right before she’d asked me to kiss her.

“That’s not what I’m sorry for, Sassy. And you know it.”

Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. “Silas,” she said in a tone laced with warning, and if I read it right, the tiniest hint of fear.

“I was an asshole for hurting you that night at my house.”

Her teeth ground together as she clenched her jaw. “Stop.”

“Sloane, baby, just hear me out—”

She snapped, pressing her palms against my chest and shoving hard enough that I rocked back a step, giving her the chance to dart out from between me and the door. “No. I’m not going to hear you out. Because, yes, it really sucked when I put myself out there and you shot me down, but that’s part of life. Disappointments happen, and if you weren’t in a place for a relationship, then so be it. It stung, but I accepted your words at face value.”

“Sloane—” I tried to cut in, but she wasn’t done.

“But then you had to turn around and prove yourself to be a liar by asking someone else out on a date.” She threw her arms out wide, a caustic laugh spilling past her pretty lips. “But to add insult to injury, you didn’t ask out just anyone. Oh no. You had to go and ask out one of mybest friends.” She jabbed her finger into my chest. “That was a shitty thing to do, Silas. Shitty and just plain cruel.”

I grabbed hold of her wrist before she could pull away, pressing it deeper into my chest until she was forced to uncurl her fingers so her palm was resting right over my heart.

“I know, Sass. And I’m so fucking sorry.”

I watched with my heart in my throat as that anger, that fight, bled out of her and her shoulders curled in on themselves in defeat. That was so much worse. Anything would have been better than seeing her like she was just then. I would have gladly let her berate me day in and day out if it kept that fire alive in her.

“Then why?” she asked on a whisper, sadness swimming in those big golden eyes. “What’s so wrong with me?”

Christ, she was killing me.

“Baby, there isn’t a goddamn thing wrong with you,” I said, my voice rumbling. “You’re fucking perfect.” I reached up with my free hand when she shook her head as though she refused to believe me, wrapping my fingers gently around her throat so I could hold her chin in place, using my thumb to force her to look up at me.

She sucked in a gasp and her eyes went wide. I searched them for fear, and when I didn’t see any, I kept my hand where it was, needing to feel the steady beat of her pulse against my palm.

“I asked her out because Asher pushed me into it, and I didn’t want to hurt her feelings in front of everyone there. I knew I was fucking up as I did it, but I felt trapped in that moment.”

“Maybe,” she whispered. “But you still made the choice to go through with it.”

I nodded solemnly. “I did; you’re right. But the only reason I did that was because Hardin felt safe.” She stiffened beneath my palm, but I kept going. “It was easy with her because there was nothing there. No feelings, no chemistry... nothing. I lied to you to make you believe I didn’t want you because the truth is, how you make me feel scares the shit out of me.”

Her lips parted on an exhale. Seconds passed at an agonizing crawl as we stood staring at each other. Finally, she spoke. “H-how do I make you feel?”

“Like I’ll go out of my fucking mind if I don’t get to touch you,” I answered, giving her unbridled honesty for the very first time since laying eyes on her. “The urge to be near you every single day feels like a living thing crawling beneath my skin, desperate to dig its way out. My life was complicated before I moved to this town. I told myself I couldn’t handle any more complications, then you walked over and introduced yourself, and I knew I was fucked. I tried so goddamn hard to stay away from you.”

I released the wrist that held her hand captive against my chest, relieved when she didn’t pull it away. Then I gave into the temptation that had been plaguing me for weeks and trailed my fingers through her hair.Jesus, it was even softer than I’d thought, the strands feeling like silk as I slowly sifted them from her temple all the way to the ends just above her shoulder. I did it again, tucking the lock behind her ear that time so I could drag the pads of my fingers across her skin.

“I don’t want to stay away from you anymore, Sloane. I wish I could go back to that night when you asked me to kiss you and do everything differently.”

I felt her throat work over a swallow beneath the palm I still had there, and something primal surged to life inside of me at the sight of my large hand wrapped more than halfway around her delicate neck.

Her words were barely a whisper as she asked, “What would you have done?”

A needy groan rumbled from my chest. “I’ll show you,” I answered, then I closed the minuscule distance between us and slammed my mouth down on hers.

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