“That’s what she said,” Nadya fired back.
I cracked up at that, my eyes glued to Nadya.This unguarded, easy happiness suited her.
After dinner, we washed dishes together in the double sink.Nadya washed, and I rinsed.The routine felt weirdly normal, like we’d been doing it forever.The small touches of our elbows became just a part of it.
As I dried the last glass, Nadya said, “You know you don’t have to stay, right?”
I tossed the towel over my shoulder.“For the record, I like being here, and you don’t have to pretend you don’t want me to stay.”
Our eyes locked, and her body tilted toward me.The air got thick and heavy.We stood that way, inches apart, each waiting for the other to break the tension.
Finally, she reached up, fingers brushing the bruise under my eye.“Still hurts?”she whispered.
“It looks worse than it feels,” I answered.
She searched my eyes for a long second, then pressed her lips to the edge of the bruise, just once.My skin tingled.
Then her mouth moved lower, to the corner of my mouth.This kiss was softer, more careful.
When she pulled back, her face was flushed.“We shouldn’t, right?”
“No,” I said, “but I really, really want to.”
My hands lingered on her hips, and then I kissed her for real, losing track of everything but the feel of her.Her lips, warm and urgent.The way her body pressed against mine.I pulled her in, and she arched into me.
We stumbled backward, my spine hitting the fridge.She climbed me, and I lifted her up with one hand under her delectable ass while the other tangled in her hair.Her hands slid under my shirt, burning against my skin.
I wanted her more than I’d wanted anything in a long time.I didn’t care that it was stupid, or reckless, or that I was supposed to be protecting her instead of falling for her.This, right here, holding her to me, kissing her, had been the one thing I had wanted ever since that first night.
Chapter 26
Nadya
IBARELY REMEMBEREDhow we got from the kitchen to my bedroom.One minute we were making out, hard and sloppy against the fridge, and the next we were stumbling down the hall, colliding into walls, lips glued together.Nick found the door before I did, spinning me through it with a hand on my ass, and then we were falling onto the bed in a tangle of limbs, laughter, and hungry kisses.
There was nothing suave about it.He took the edge of my T-shirt in his teeth and yanked up, getting stuck on my bra.I snorted, rolled my eyes, and helped him pull it over my head.He stared at me, breathless, then reached behind to unhook the bra.
