Page 45 of Wild Devotion
“No, it?—”
“Zadie.” His free hand came up, one finger pressing gently against my lips. “Whatever it is, it can wait. I shouldn’t have asked about him tonight.” His fingertip traced slowly down my lower lip. “Not on your first date.”
“But it’s important. It might change your mind about being here with me.”
“Nothing could change my mind.” His voice dropped, shooting sparks across my skin. “Especially since you’ve finally admitted this is a date.”
“It’s not?—”
“No pressure. No expectations.” He tilted my chin up with his finger until I was looking into his brilliant blue eyes. “Just you and me. No regrets for one night.”
The park was nearly empty. The distant sound of music drifted from somewhere across the grass. And Caleb was looking at me like the rest of the world had disappeared.
“Okay,” I whispered.
“Do you have any idea how beautiful you are? You get this tiny crinkle in your forehead when you’re worried.” His thumb brushed across my brow. “And you do this thing with your mouth.”
“Cal.” I was losing the fight. I could feel it slipping away from me.
His arm slid around my back, pulling me against him. His chest pressed into mine, his hand splayed warm and firm at the base of my spine.
“What are you doing?” I gasped.
“Kissing you.” His mouth hovered just out of reach. “Tell me to stop.”
Panic and desire crashed through me at once. He was giving me an out. A door I could walk through. But my legs wouldn’t move and only one word came to mind. “Please.”
“Please what? Please stop? Please kiss you?” His breath was warm against my lips. “I need to hear you say it, Zadie.”
But my voice had abandoned me.
I lifted onto my toes, my hand sliding to the back of his neck, pulling him down until our mouths met, and I sighed at the contact.
The kiss was soft. His lips molded to mine in a way that felt like both a question and an answer. We stayed there for what felt like forever.
And still, it ended too soon.
He pulled back like I was quicksand he was afraid of sinking into. His breathing was controlled, but his eyes stayed fixed on my mouth.
My heart was frantic. Partly from the kiss. Partly from the anxiety crawling through me.
I wanted him. Far too much.
“Why’d you stop?” I asked.
Instead of answering, he pulled me back in. Crushed me against him in an embrace so tight I couldn’t tell where I ended and he began.
His mouth found my ear. “Trust me, I don’t want to. But I’m trying to be respectful and do this right.”
When he loosened his hold, I saw the crack in his composure. He raked a hand through his hair, his breathing wasn’t as steady as I’d thought, and his bottom lip was caught between his teeth.
It was too much.
Too much want. Too much ache. Too much fucking hope.
I pulled my hand from his and started walking toward the house. Toward the only place I could go to put a wall between us.
“Zadie, wait.” He was beside me in seconds, his stride eating the distance mine couldn’t.
