Page 28 of If You Were Mine (After We Fall 3)
Wrapping my arms around myself, I stared straight ahead.
“Hey.” Putting his fingers beneath my chin, he forced me to look at him. “Talk to me, please.”
I jerked my head away. “No.”
“Why not?” His soft voice was breaking me down.
“Because I’m embarrassed.”
“About what?”
“About…what I just said. About what I almost did on the dance floor.” I lowered my voice to a whisper. “I almost kissed you.”
His silence stretched out so long, I finally had to look over at him. In the dark, his expression was hard to read, so his next words shocked me. “I promise you, Claire, what you almost did on the dance floor was nothing compared to what I want to do to you right now.”
My jaw dropped. “What?”
“But Claire.” Whatever he said next was swallowed by the thunderous pounding of my heart.
“Wait a minute. Wait a minute.” I held up one hand. “What do you want to do to me right now?”
His jaw twitched. “It’s a long list.”
“Start at the top.”
“No.”
“Please, Theo.” My heart hadn’t slowed down one bit. In fact, it was galloping wildly out of control, and taking my imagination with it.
“No. I can’t.”
“Why not?”
He laughed grimly. “That list is almost as long.”
“Is it because of the Promise?”
“There’s that.”
“And what else?”
He ran a hand over his stubble, and my stomach flipped as I wondered what it would feel like on my skin. “Theo, you have no idea how bad I feel about myself tonight. Just tell me I’m not crazy. Tell me it wasn’t all pretend.”
“You’re not crazy.”
“Tell me something else,” I whispered. “Please.” His words were like a drug—I needed more. Even if the high was only temporary. Even if the crash would hurt.
He looked at me. “I’ve never met anyone as beautiful as you.”
My toes tingled, and it wasn’t the cold. “Really?”
“Really. And I’ve never wanted to kiss anyone as badly as I wanted to kiss you on that dance floor.”
The tingle moved up my legs. Was he leaning closer to me? “Really?”
“Really. And I’ve never wanted to taste someone the way I want to taste you.”
The tingle nestled between my thighs. He was slowly closing the distance between us, his eyes on my lips.
