Page 111 of Fractured Fate

“I know,” he said.

“How?”

“A hunch. You don’t pout when you’re really sad.”

Was she that transparent? He seemed to read her so well compared to others. Maybe he did that easily with everyone.

This close to him, she could see the golden ring around his pupil, flaring out into the green of his eyes like the sun filtering through the forest.

Was she seriously sitting there comparing his eyes to nature? He’s looking at you, say something!

“Your eyes have gold in them,” she said, leaning forward subconsciously.

Smooth.

He chuckled, low and deep. “They do. How much did you have to drink?”

Apparently not enough.

“One bottle. You’ve had more than I have.”

“I hold my alcohol well.”

She wouldn’t drink more than one bottle. The doctor said her medicine wouldn’t mix well with copious amounts of alcohol and advised against inebriation but said the occasional beer wouldn’t harm her.

“Well, I’m not tipsy, just noticed that, is all.”

“Alright,” he said, his voice lowering into a soft cadence that relaxed her.

His head angled, and his gaze dropped to her mouth. His eyelids lowered to half-mast as his tongue traced over his lower lip.

“Aiden?” she whispered.

“Yeah?”

“You’re going to kiss me, aren’t you?”

“Yeah.”

With that confirmation, he leaned in, closing the distance between them.

She feared alcohol was responsible for his abrupt change in behavior and worried he would regret everything as soon as the kiss ended. But that problem was for future Charlotte to deal with. Present Charlotte battled the urge to crawl into Aiden’s lap.

His tongue swept into her mouth to tangle with hers, and he groaned. The sound made her nipples tighten, as if his vocal chords had a direct link to her body parts.

He shifted, his hand holding the side of her throat as his other gripped her waist, twisting her on the couch, lowering her down to her back, while never removing his mouth from hers. His body loomed over hers, hand gliding along her side as he used his other to angle her head where he wanted it, deepening the kiss.

Moaning into his mouth when his hand settled on her hip and squeezed, she canted her hips up to press against him where he nestled between her thighs. The answering grind of his hips against her made the denim of her shorts press against her panties and slide over her slit, making her ache to remove the fabric between them.

Her hands slid up his back, nails dragging over his gray Henley until she reached his shoulders. She moved one of her hands around to rest on top of his shoulder, and the other slid into his hair, raking over his scalp. He moaned into her mouth and bit down on her lower lip.

Breaking the kiss, he stared down at her. They were so close she could taste his breath, a strange mixture of beer and cream. His pupils were blown, but what caught her attention most was the green ring encircling them. The light from the movie on the TV made them gleam like jewels.

“Your eyes are so beautiful,” she murmured, moving the hand on his shoulder to brush his stubbled jawline. “It’s like they’re glowing.”

Those narrowed eyes that looked at her with such intensity rounded.

He shot up off the couch and stood above her, breath heavy, panic etched in every line of his body. She lifted herself onto her elbows and looked up at him.