Page 50 of If I Stopped Haunting You

“What?” she asked, straightening.

Neil shook his head and looked away toward the center of the room. “It’s nothing.”

They settled on the mound of blankets and pillows. Neil was careful not to touch her, leaving just enough room between them. Grumbling, Skinner readjusted herself, her knee brushing his as she sat cross-legged.

“Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, even as his eyes locked on the place where they touched.

Clearing his throat, he opened his laptop to a new blank document. Damn it, how many blank documents had he started and stopped over the last four months? Neil poised his hands over the keyboard, lips pressed into a thin line.

“Maybe we could start by talking?” Skinner asked, her eyes flicking to his screen.

He turned to her in surprise.Shewanted to talk tohim? He’d take whatever he could get.

“I mean, if you think it’ll work?”

She shrugged as she logged in to her laptop and scanned the turret, craning her neck back. Neil was immediately drawn to her throat, to the spot on her shoulder where it met her collarbone.

He wanted to press the little divot in her collar.

To kiss it.

To trail a finger between her freckles and connect the dots.

What’s wrong with you?he thought, turning away from her.

“We could start by describing the room?”

Neil frowned. “Oh, okay.”

Skinner laughed. “What did you think we would talk about?”

“Nothing.”

Fuck, he was being a jerk. What the hell was wrong with him? Working his jaw, he followed her lead, taking in the cracked stone,the pale light seeping in through the windows. Closing his eyes, he inhaled that damp scent.

“This place is a dump,” she said.

Neil sputtered and pressed a fist to his mouth. “That’s a very eloquent description.”

“It’s really not.” Skinner leaned back into the pillows, surveying the ceiling. A long crack split its length, reaching from one end of the room to the other. She sighed. “I can’t stop thinking about last night.”

Neil blinked in surprise. “Me neither.”

“Every time I close my eyes—”

“All I can think about,” he started, heart leaping into his throat.

“Are those eyes,” she said as he blurted, “Is you.”

Skinner leaned up on her elbows, frowning. “Sorry, what did you say?”

“Ugh, blue,” Neil corrected.

Did I just say that out loud?

“Blue?”