Page 5 of Keep Me Close

The second I do, her expression shifts, and for just a moment, there’s a flash of strain around her eyes and perfectly painted mouth. It would be too quick to notice for anyone who wasn’t paying close enough attention.

Unfortunately, when it comes to this woman, I see everything.

Her posture remains confident. Almost careless. Her tone is laced with that dry, dismissive bite she uses when trying to keep people at arm’s length. But there’s tension in the set of her shoulders. It’s almost as if she’s holding herself together by sheer force of will.

Hmm… Something’s off.

She rises to her feet with one smooth movement. And, fuck, she looks even better than I first suspected. My greedy gaze skims down the length of her before I mentally backhand myself and force my attention to her face. She swallows up the distance between us, stopping less than a foot away.

My hands tighten into fists as I tamp down the urge to reach out and drag her closer. When I’m around her, every bit of self-control is put to the test.

Ironically, Chey has no idea the effect she has on me.

None. And that’s exactly the way it needs to stay.

For a second, neither of us speak.

She simply stands there, looking up at me, and I’m hit with the same jolt I felt six years ago. As if the room has narrowed to the space between us. I should take a step in retreat, but I can’t make myself do it.

Her gaze flicks to my mouth before darting away so quickly I almost wonder if I imagined it.

Almost.

“What’s going on?” I ask, my voice sounding as if it’s been scraped out of me.

“Nothing.”

My eyes narrow. “Why don’t I believe you?”

A tiny exhale leaves her, and for the first time since I found her here, she looks uncertain. That’s new. Cheyenne Benson is a lot of things, but uncertain isn’t one of them.

Instead of responding, she rises to the tips of her toes before pressing her lips against my cheek. My eyelids feather closed as I greedily inhale her perfume. It’s something light and airy. Like bottled-up sunshine from the beach.

Fuck me.

I’ve spent too many nights dreaming about her decadent scent, wondering why it feels imprinted on my soul.

The kiss is fleeting. Almost innocent. She lingers just long enough to fray my nerves.

A groan sits trapped in my chest as I fight the urge to turn my head and capture her mouth with my own. To bury my hands in her hair and see if kissing her feels as explosive as I’ve always imagined.

I’m pretty damned sure it would.

Which is a problem.

The moment stretches until it feels like I’m standing on the cusp of something I won’t be able to come back from. Just when I’m on the verge of cracking, she draws away.

My eyes pop open as I meet her gaze. “You never answered the question, Chey.” I congratulate myself when the words come out calmly. “What are you doing here?”

Her smile pulls tight as the tension I caught a few seconds ago returns. There’s no mistaking it this time.

“I need a small favor.”

3

Cheyenne

His forehead furrows as he stares at me like I just offered him a glass of poison. I’ve known Knox for a while, and this is always the kind of guarded expression I get from him.