Page 67 of Kane

“Do you want to come inside?” I ask, my voice barely a whisper.

There’s a heavy silence between us and I think he’s going to say no.

His words are shaky, vulnerable in a way I’ve never heard him.

“Do you want to come in, Ryder?”

I give him a smirk as I settle a hand on his hip.

I could be sarcastic, even humorous. Tell him I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want him to stay.

But something tells me this is new for him, too.

He’s afraid I’ll say no. Like maybe we really are playing a part and reading from a script neither of us feel committed to.

And knowing that Kane—this remarkable, badass, tough-looking man who makes me feel like the world is my fucking oyster when he’s around—is just as nervous as me, settles everything inside of me.

“Yes, sir” I say as I lean in and kiss him.

It’s not a rush, not like it usually is. I kiss him slowly, needing him to understand that I want this. And I will wait as long as I have to.

I just hope I don’t have to wait long, but if that is what it takes…

I grab his hips and pull him closer and he grabs my neck. He groans into my mouth and his entire body loosens beneath me.

When I find his tongue with mine, I stroke it slowly. I let myself taste him; the remnants of sundried tomato evident still, a lingering sweetness that has nothing to do with food or sugar, and everything to do with this fire between us.

I carefully pull away, a string of saliva linking us together, as my eyes find his, and I realize I am looking down at him, because he’s shrunken, too.

“I’d love it if you stayed.”

Kane lets out a long breath, and when he answers me, it’s not shaky or nervous or apathetic.

It’s solid, unwavering. Clear as a bell.

“Then I will stay.”

My heart swells as I grin, nodding with excitement and joy.

I open the door, motioning for him to head in first. He stares at the open door, the setting sun painting the room in shades of ochre and orange.

He stares at the threshold like Indiana Jones stares at a pit full of snakes. Like something’s about to bite him.

I take two steps closer, my voice low and firm because I think I know exactly what he’s thinking, and I need him to understand this… isn’t about that.

“We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, you know,” I say softly. Kane glances at me, his eyes sparkling from the light. They shine with a green glimmer, like emeralds in the dark.

Kane’s eyebrows furrow like he’s worried. Panicking maybe. I grab his hand. Squeeze it.

That seems to pull him out of his head and he squeezes back.

I pull him in through the door, and he follows without question. His palm is warm, slightly clammy. But he holds onto me tight, almost like he’s afraid if he lets go, I’ll float up to the sky.

He lets go and I lock the door, then offer to take his coat. He hands it to me, his gaze never leaving mine. I hang it up and then take mine off, while he removes his boots and I do the same.

When I look up, opening my mouth to speak, Kane grabs me and kisses me.

Hard.