Page 75 of Shut Up and Drive

Drunk on a moment that seems far too deep for bags of chips and canned goods to be audience to, my lips move to the Cupid’s bow scar. It’s a kiss so fleeting between us, I almost wonder if it happened for real. I pull back, stunned. My eyes search his for what to do next, and a small smile crosses his face. He lets me steer the moment, responding solely with the same intensity as mine.

Soft. Gentle.Healing.

The only indication of his restraint is the way his hands move to grip my waist. It’s a wanting, but a patient one. I lean in and taste him again, and he returns the urgency racing through me, beat for beat. His familiar arms wrap around my back and he pulls me against him. It’s just like old times—yetnewsomehow—as his past self makes way for the man he has grown into while we’ve been apart. I like this new Thane as much as I miss the old one. He’s stillstrong and protective, but with an unwavering presence I’ve never felt before from him. He’s steady. Even in the face of conflict, he’s there for me to lean on.

Maybe he has grown up…

I lose myself in his arms, in his kiss, in his presence. I didn’t realize before now how much I’ve missed this electricity, and I surrender completely.

I admit to myself mid-kiss, in the glare of that horrible pantry lighting, that I still love him. But I can’t bring myself to say it out loud.

Not yet.

Chapter 30

FAKE IT ’TIL YOU BAKE IT

Thane

“Oooh! Muffins!” my niece yells from the kitchen, and Sera and I immediately pull apart. The most intimate moment I’ve ever experienced at her fingertips is over, and I feel her absence immediately. My heart rattles in my chest and I can barely catch my breath. She runs a hand through my hair to fix it back into place, and I tuck a rebel strand of her hair behind her ear.

It’s midnight, Cinderella. Back to real life you go!

I sigh and stand, offering my hand to help her up. She takes it willingly, and when she rises, she is far too close—but not close enough. We hover in the space, silence surrounding us. I don’t want to move. And from her body language, neither does she. Her fingers brush against mine and I inhale like I was just given the breath of life.

“What now?” she asks.

“I’m not sure. But there’s no innocent way of getting out of this pantry when there are witnesses in the kitchen.”

She touches her beautiful, bare lips. “Do you think they’ll know?”

I stare at her mouth, still tasting her on my own lips. “They’ll fill in all the gaps, whether we want them to or not,” I say with a muted laugh, and force my gaze to move up to her eyes. “And with the aroma of the muffins you baked wafting through the house, everyone will be up soon.”

“Well, that backfired.” She laughs.

“Not for those of us with hungry bellies this morning. I’m more afraid that every muffin will be gone before we figure out how to get out of here.”

“Here,” she says, handing me a big bag of flour. She grabs a handful of nonsensical things that she most definitely doesnotneed for baking, and leaves the pantry first. “Thanks for your help. I’m not sure who put that up so high,” she says over her shoulder at me.

“Of course,” I say like the horrible actor that I am, and drop it down onto the counter.

The whole room goes silent and a hundred pairs of eyes are fixed on us. She stiffly sets aside her “ingredients” and pulls dough out of the fridge. She lays it on the floured countertop and goes right to work, folding it and rolling it out before she realizes that everyone is still watching her. I sit back and watch the whole awkward exchange.

“What?” she finally asks the crowd of onlookers.

A grin chases across my face and I whip around to hide myself in the fridge under the guise of getting out the milk.

“What was that about?” Bash asks.

“What do you mean?” she says, feigning innocence, but no one is falling for it.

Except me. I’ll fall for anything she does.

Bash laughs. “You’re the worst liar ever, Sera. Just admit you two were canoodling in the pantry and get it over with.”

She gasps and I snicker from the open refrigerator.

“There was no canoodling!” she protests, but when everyone laughs at her she ropes me in. “Thane, tell them!”