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I’m serious, GG. Don’t do it.
I halted the kiss, covering my mouth as I lowered myself to my usual height and pushed past Eric. He tried to catch my arm. I think he tried to call my name, but I couldn’t hear anything over the rush of blood through my ears. I scaled the stairs and sprinted over the carpet to the four-post bed with sheer pink netting around it.
Down-feather pillows and a lush cream comforter caught me as I flung myself on the bed. The mattress squeaked slightly. Oh, I wished that was a different kind of squeaking. I wished that was the sensational rolling of my hips causing that croak. Did Eric feel that way? Was that why he kissed me?
Just give it a try.
His alphas told us to try it, the mate thing. Yet nothing about the mate thing made sense to me. I didn’t understand being fated to meet, much less how that could possibly apply to a witch like me. We didn’t participate in customs like that. Unless individual families decided on matchmaking for their children, it just didn’t happen in the witch community.
I didn’t believe in it. That was never a requirement for me.
Yet right now, it seemed to be an appealing thought. It wasn’t quite a desire yet. Just a thought. Just a feeling that maybe, perhaps someday, that would be something that could apply to me. It was a possibility.
I touched my lips. Is that what the alphas meant by considering it?
I sat up sharply, noticing how the air had shifted. My ears tingled with a distinct awareness of the floorboards downstairs, creaking and moaning as weight traveled across them. I could tell precisely where Eric stood and even how he stood. I could picture his hands on his hips, then in his pockets, then tucked under his arms in an attempt at self-soothing.
I knew because I understood the feeling. I was doing the same thing right now with my brain and my body, shifting stances and positions. Mind and heart were battling it out. Which one was going to win?
Did I even have a choice in the matter?
The way my body responded to his kiss felt entirely uncontrolled. I was supposed to wait. I was supposed to not be interested in Eric, his body, surprisingly soft lips, and his stunning grin.
I rubbed my temples. Get it together, GG. You’re here for a reason—and that has nothing to do with straddling Eric’s lap and—
A knock reverberated from the bottom of the stairs. My breath hitched as I looked at the empty landing, waiting to hear that familiar croak of the second step. But it didn’t come.
Instead, I heard Eric inhale sharply and then clear his throat. “GG, may I come upstairs?”
My heart fluttered. He called me by my nickname. Was he trying to establish rapport? I stared at my fingers, tracing the lines and creases on my left hand with the tip of my right finger. Well, we had to face the heat together, right?
I swallowed hard. “Yes, you can come up.”
One by one, the stairs announced his ascent. And one by one, my resolve came undone, my initial resistance seeming to fall apart at his approach. The top of his head came into view, then his broad shoulders, then his chiseled torso and strong legs. Every inch of him moved with a purpose that appeared tinted with a resonant sorrow.
Perhaps I could see that now because he told me about his ex-girlfriend. What I knew of his situation came solely from Kiara’s perspective before. Now that I had Eric’s experience in my mind, I could see how much of that betrayal he carried in his body. Icy eyes turned to me, softening the moment he noticed how I was sitting rigidly on the bed.
I dropped my hands to the bedding, idly rubbing the down feather comforter and trying to ground myself in it. Was it really a good idea to have a conversation up here? I mean, with the bed under me and the way it creaked and my thoughts ramping my body up with all my ideas…
I sighed.
Eric paused at the end of the bed, resting his shoulder against the bedpost as he crossed his arms over his chest. The silence around us felt like it was pushing in. It wasn’t like this was something I had a lot of experience doing, so I wasn’t sure where to begin.
It’s not often I want to rail my best friend’s dad.
I tried to swallow my fear but ended up playing with a few strands of wavy curls instead. “Eric, about the kiss…” I swallowed the urge to beg for more. “We should take it easy.”
“I was thinking the same thing.”
“It’s not that I didn’t like it—”
His eyes widened. “You liked it?”
I nipped my lower lip while avoiding his gaze. “I mean…”
“I thought I was too rough. I have a hard touch. I don’t know my strength sometimes.”
“No, it was perfect. Just the right amount of tongue. You were so gentle. I can’t believe anyone would think that’s rough.”
