I took one too.
Now we were close. Too close to pretend this wasn’t something. Not anymore.
“I’m not great at this,” he said, voice rough. “But I’ve wanted to do this for days.”
“I thought we just did.”
“That wasn’t my best.”
I opened my mouth to say something that was witty, charming,anything, but nothing came out.
Then his hand brushed my cheek, and his thumb skimmed just below my jaw.
And then he kissed me again.
It wasn’t tentative.
It was deep. Focused. Like he’d been holding himself back for days and finally let go.
His other hand found my waist, pulling me closer with an urgency that left my head spinning. The contact was electric—skin to fabric, breath to breath. My fingers gripped the edge ofhis shirt, needing something to hold onto, because my knees suddenly felt like melted marshmallow.
He angled his mouth against mine, lips parting mine, tasting, exploring. There was nothing slow about it now. It was heat and softness and tension, every inch of my body suddenlyawareof his—how warm he was, how firm, how good he smelled, how easily I could lose myself in the pull of his gravity.
He kissed like a man starved and like he’d waited too long and couldn’t afford to be gentle.
And I matched him, kiss for kiss, until we were both breathing harder, hearts hammering, the fire crackling at our backs like it knew this was a moment worth lighting the sky for.
When he finally pulled back, he didn’t step away.
He stayed close with his forehead to mine, and his hands still on my waist.
Ben’s breath mingled with mine.
“I’m not going to apologize,” he murmured. “But if that wasn’t okay…”
My lips brushed his again, softer this time. “It was okay.”
His blue eyes darkened. “Good.”
I couldn’t stop touching him. My hand drifted from his chest to his shoulder, needing to anchor myself to something solid.
Hewassolid.
And real.
And here.
I didn’t know what it meant.
Not yet.
But the way he looked at me, like I wasn’t just a distraction but somethinghe’d needed, that meant something.
And tonight?
That was enough.
And for once, I let myself have it.
