That’s the moment.
Every ounce of restraint I’ve stacked like bricks between us crumbles.
I take her wrist, gentle but sure, and tug her toward me. Her breath stutters. Her tote bag slips off her shoulder, hits the ground with a soft thud.
She looks up at me with those wide, startled eyes that always make me feel something dangerous, something cavernous.
I mutter, low and wrecked, “Fuck it.”
I pull her in and kiss her.
Her gasp hits my mouth. Her hands grab my jacket like she’s stunned and relieved all at once. The kiss starts slow, one press of lips, then another, and then she moves, tugging me closer.
Her mouth opens against mine, and the rush that goes through me is so fierce I almost grip her too tight. Heat rolls through my spine, hot enough that I groan without meaning to.
She kisses me back like she’s been waiting for this. Like last night wasn’t a fluke. Like she remembers leaning into me, whispering my name, trusting me when she shouldn’t have.
Her lips slide against mine again, deeper this time, and something raw slips out of me, half growl, half sigh.
My hand slides to her jaw, the pad of my thumb brushing her cheek. She tilts into it, softening.
And that’s the exact moment it becomes dangerous.
For both of us.
I pull back, breath rough, forehead almost touching hers. She’s warm against me, chest rising fast, lips still parted like she’s waiting for me to come back to her.
I look at her for a long beat. She looks back like she doesn’t know whether to step into me again or pull away.
I swallow hard.
“Have a good night,” I murmur. “But don’t forget what you are.”
Her brows lift.
“You’re an Omega,” I say softly. “And you should always remember that.”
She shivers. Not from the cold.
Her lips part like she wants to say something, but I shove my hands into my pockets before I do something stupid again.
She steps back slowly, breath catching once more. She bends to grab her tote bag, fingers trembling slightly as she swings the strap over her shoulder, and heads toward Jude’s porch.
When she reaches the steps, she glances back at me. Her eyes aren’t confused anymore. They’re lit with awareness.
With want.
With something I’m not sure she’s ready to admit out loud.
She opens the door and slips inside.
I stand in the cold, chest still pounding, mouth still hot from her kiss. One word echoes through my skull.
Fuck.
Whatever line I thought existed between us?
It’s gone now.
