Page 65 of Be With Me
Another few seconds passed before his shoulders lowered. His breath escaped his lungs in a slow exhale, and then his whole face changed in a million tiny ways.
For the first time since I’d met him, I could read him. I could see exactly what he was thinking.
He was grateful.
Profoundly so. In ways I suspected he didn’t even fully understand, and the knowledge that I'd given this moment to him made my heart churn.
His fingers twitched beneath my hand as he held my gaze. “You’re not…like who I thought you’d be.”
“Really?” I asked softly. He wasn’t either, but out of the two of us, he was the one who hid behind a mask.
The wind picked up, sinking its cold teeth into my skin. I began to shiver. Maybe it was time to go in?—
Romolo moved. A second later, large hands appeared on the railing, bracketing mine.
A bump against my shoulder blades.
Then warmth. So much warmth. His heat blanketed my back, seeping through my clothes, caressing my flesh.
“Better?” The word came from somewhere very close to my ear.
My eyes were wide. “Uh— Yeah. Better.” His huge, muscled body was practically wrapped around me.
This was us crossing another line. I knew it. He knew it.
But something kept me standing still instead of running away like I told myself I would if he ever got too close again.
Each second ticked by in slow motion as I basked in his warmth and his clean, male scent.
Thwomp… Shhhh… Thwomp…. Shhhh…
The whispers of the waves followed a hypnotic rhythm, lulling me into a relaxed state, despite my best intentions to stay on my guard.
“I thought behind that good girl act you were just like the rest of them.” His voice was rough, but the way his lips brushed the shell of my ear softened the edge. “But you’re the real thing, aren’t you? Good all the way through. You went from hating me to helping me in seconds. Didn’t even hesitate.”
I didn’t hate him.
“That’s what anyone would’ve done,” I whispered.
“No.” His warm breath grazed the side of my neck, making my toes curl. “It’s not.”
I didn’t know what this was. What we were doing. Another game?
His hands fell from the railing to my hips.
We stood still, unmoving, but I felt every single place we touched. Each point of contact burned—hotter than the flashes that warned me I was about to lose consciousness. Hotter than anything I’d ever felt.
Don’t let this go any further,a voice whispered, threaded with desperation.
But my body had other plans.
I leaned back, letting my head fall against his shoulder.
He made a sound of satisfaction, low and deep, the kind a person makes when a puzzle piece fits. Then he pulled my hips back against his.
He was hard.
“Your fucking scent.” The words rumbled in his chest. “It drives me crazy.”
