Page 155 of Under the Midnight Sky

She looks like the kind of temptation I should never give in to.

But God help me, I want to.

She’s impossible, stubborn, clever, infuriating, and still I can’t stop watching her, the pull constant, dragging me closer, making me wonder what she’d do if I actually touched her like I keep imagining.

I move toward her slowly, deliberately, my gaze fixed on her moving body, and I’m only a few feet away when she turns mid-lyric…

and screams.

The chair slips from her hands, crashing onto her foot, and she bends instantly.

“Oww, Dex! You scared the shit out of me!”

“Shit,” I mutter, stepping forward. “I’m sorry, Tinker, I just…”

Just what?

I didn’t want you to stop dancing because you captivate me body and soul?

Because I was imagining throwing you on that table and discovering every inch of you?

Because the longer I look at you, the more I crave to feel you close, branded on me like a fucking tattoo?

Yeah. Can’t say that.

So instead I settle for, “Sorry, Tinker.”

She looks up at me, her blue gaze wide and glassy, and I crouch without thinking, brushing her hands aside to check her foot.

“It’s okay, it’s nothing,” she says quickly. “The chair isn’t that heavy…”

I cut her off with a look. “Let me see.”

My hands settle on her hips, firm and sure, and I lift her easily, setting her down on the table. The contact is brief, but it’s enough. Too much.

I crouch again, sliding her shoe off, then her sock. Her foot is small, delicate, a little red but not swollen.

“Can you move it?” I ask, my voice rough as my fingers brush over her skin.

“Yeah,” she whispers, flexing her foot.

“Good girl,” I growl, relief mixing with something darker.

I look up and nearly curse out loud.

Lexy’s eyes are locked on me, the blue nearly swallowed by her pupils, breath shallow, lips parted just slightly.

“Tinker,” I warn quietly. I know that look. I’ve worn it myself.

“Dex, I…” she starts.

“Hey! Who left the lights on in the basement?” Stephen calls out as he comes up the stairs.

I step back instantly, breaking the moment like snapping a wire.

Lexy blushes hard, her gaze darting anywhere but at me.

And just like that, the air shifts, but the tension stays, thick and dangerous, humming between us.