Page 39 of The Alpha’s Midnight Witch

"You know six people."

"I own a shop. I know everyone. Ha!" I lean in, giddy with it, because needling him is the first thing that's felt normal all day. "Do you also secretly love pumpkin spice?"

"Ew. No."

"Decorative gourds?"

"No."

"Romantic comedies?"

The silence stretches one beat too long.

I gasp. "Gage?"

"Give me the remote."

I whip it behind my back, laughing. He reaches. I twist away. He reaches farther, and then the space between us just... closes.

One arm braced beside my shoulder. One knee sunk into the cushion. All that weight and heat suddenly over me, close enough that I catch cedar and woodsmoke and the wilder thing underneath that I always smell.

The laughing stops. So does the movie. So does the room. So do my lungs.

His gray eyes drop to my mouth.

I don't move. I could. But, I don't want to, and that gives me clarity that scares me worse than the footprints did. I feel the wetness in my panties

He inhales deep through his nose like he smells something good. His pupils dilate and heat comes up in his eyes. Real heat. His gaze moves over my face like he's memorizing it, like he decided something a long time ago and is only now letting himself feel it.

His hand slides to the back of my neck.

Then his mouth is on mine.

And, there’s nothing careful about it. The first touch is hard and hungry, like he’s been holding this back for so long he’s forgotten how to pretend he doesn’t want me.

I gasp against his lips, and he takes advantage, deepening the kiss, his tongue sweeping into my mouth as his other hand closes around my waist and pulls me against him.

Every thought in my head disappears.

I grab his shirt, fisting the fabric in both hands. His body is hot and solid against mine, and when his hips press into me, I feel exactly how much he wants this.

Wants me.

A sound slips out of my throat.

Gage groans.

The sound vibrates through me and lands somewhere low and dangerous.

I lean in, kissing him harder, moving my hands through his hair and for one dizzy second he gives me everything. His fingers tighten at my waist. His mouth turns rougher. Hungrier.

Then he tears himself away.

His forehead drops against mine, his chest rising hard against me.

“Fuck.”

His eyes stay closed.