He looks at me for a long moment, his gaze moving over my face with a quiet intensity that makes my face flush. Then he takes a breath and quickly asks, "Can I kiss you?"
The question sits in the quiet room between us, simple and direct, and so completely unexpected that it takes me a full three seconds to process it.
"Yes," I say as quickly as I can. “Yes, please.”
My heart is hammering against my ribs as I watch Perrin's mouth curve into that slow, sweet smile.
I sit up a little straighter, then lick my lips, but instead of leaning over and kissing me, Perrin reaches over and takes my mug out of my hands. My fingers tremble slightly as I let it go, and I press them together in my lap, hoping he doesn't notice.
Then, without a word, Perrin stands and holds his hand out to me, open and patient, waiting.
I look at his hand for half a second, then put mine in it.
Perrin pulls me to my feet gently, before moving in close. I tip my head back to see his face, and what I find there makes my breath catch.
Thesweet bashfulness from moments ago is gone, replaced by something wildly intense and very sexy. His eyes, usually warm and honey-brown, have darkened to amber. His jaw is tight, a muscle flexing as his gaze drops to my mouth and then back to my eyes.
It's like nothing I’ve seen from the beta before now—this raw, unfiltered desire that makes my stomach flutter and my free hand find the front of his shirt without me deciding to do it.
Moving slowly, his hand comes up and cups my face, tilting my chin up. "You are so incredibly beautiful."
And then he kisses me.
His lips are soft and warm against mine, moving with a tenderness that makes my heart flutter. There's nothing rushed about this kiss—nothing demanding or possessive. It's sweet and perfect, his mouth moving gently against mine as if he's trying to memorize the shape of my lips.
When I sigh into his mouth, he deepens it slightly, his tongue sliding against mine, and I press closer without thinking, closing the last inch of space between us.
Perrin’s hands move from my face into my hair, fingers curling into the waves at the back of my head, and something about the way he holds me there, firm without being forceful, makes my knees go unreliably soft.
A slow, melting warmth spreads through me from every point where our bodies touch. My pulse begins to flutter and my breath goes shallow as slick begins to gather between my thighs.
The lush scent of warm fabric, like linen that just came out of the dryer, mixed with a faint citrus fills my lungs, making me moan.
“Perrin,” I gasp as he walks me backwardslowly. One step at a time until the small of my back meets the edge of the dining room table and I have nowhere left to go.
His body presses against mine, warm and solid, and I can feel exactly how much he wants me through the thin fabric of his sweatpants. His cock is long and hard, nestled against my stomach, the heat of him seeping through the layers between us.
A vivid thought crosses my mind of him lifting me onto this table and fucking me as the morning sun moves across the floor.
My sore, well-used body clenches at the idea with embarrassing enthusiasm.
But before I can shimmy up onto the table, the glass-paneled back door swings open, and we break apart.
Adam steps in from the deck, pulling his earbuds out with one hand and pushing the door shut behind him with the other. He's clearly just finished a run. His dark blond hair is damp at the temples, his grey shirt soaked through in a stripe down the center of his chest, and his cheeks are flushed a deep pink from the morning air.
He looks up and sees us.
His eyes move from Perrin to me, then back to Perrin, taking in the small distance between us and Perrin's hands dropping from my hair.
My stomach drops a little as I brace for how Adam will react. He’s been so patient and kind when it comes to me and his alphas, but I have no idea how he feels about me touching his own twin brother.
Will he yell? Shut down? Or simply glare at me?
But none of that happens.
Instead, a slow, delighted grin spreads across his face, wide and completely unguarded, and it throws me so completely off balance that I stare at him for asecond.
"Well," Adam says, looking between us. "Good morning to me." He cocks a smile.
