Page 20 of The Secret
She sighs and strokes a hand over my forearm.
“What are you doing?” I whisper.
“Sorry,” she says again. “I’m a bit obsessed with your arms.”
“Don’t say things like that.”
“Sorry.”
“Stop saying ‘sorry.’”
“Okay.”
“Knowing you’re thinking about my arms doesn’t help.”
“Okay.”
I can’t get her scent out of my nostrils. Burying my face in her hair, I say, “You smell amazing.”
She laughs. “What? Sweaty?”
“Yeah, funnily enough.” I lick her neck. “You taste good too.” She exhales a shaky breath, and the idea that I’m having an effect on her too makes my stomach tighten. “Fuck, I shouldn’t have done that.”
I harden more and I can’t help the loud groan that slips out into the silence of the hut.
“Shhh!” she says.
“You feel far too fucking good.” I kiss her just under her ear, sinking my teeth in, nibbling, arm tightening on her like a vice. “Okay. You were right. This was a mistake. It’s like sleeping with chocolate cake.”
She snorts. “Chocolate cake? Are you high?”
“It’s my favorite thing to eat.”
She starts giggling. And I can’t stop myself from laughing too. “I’ll have you know I taste better than chocolate cake,” she says.
I groan. “Lying here thinking about how you taste isn’t helping either.”
“I’ve been told …”
My hand clamps over her mouth. “Shhh, woman, sleep.”
“Little hope of that now,” she says, moving again.
I tighten my arm. I’m never going to be able to sleep either. Despite the heat and discomfort and the feeling of her small body tucked securely into mine, I close my eyes on a long sigh. And it seems like only seconds later that my eyes blink open to daylight seeping in around the cloth over the door. How did that happen? A cat that’s appeared from somewhere jumps down from the bed and stretches. I move out from behind Liss and climb out from under the net.
“Is everything alright?” she whispers.
“Time to get up.”
“What?”
Her eyes dart to the door, and she grimaces before she curls in on herself.
She’s so cute in the morning, sleepy eyes and her dark curls in some mad disarray. I smile at her. “Sleep well?”
She sits up and swings her legs over the side of the bed. Groaning, she rubs her hands down her face and pouts and regret burns through me. How could I have had the chance for more with her and nothing occurred, not even a kiss?
I squat down in front of her. Her face is so close, lips pink and plush, so I lean forward and skim my mouth across hers. Her lips are like velvet, and I instantly want more but I don’t want to push my luck.
