Does she mean stay-stay? I should clarify. I should?—
Maren leaned in and kissed him.
He cupped her face with his free hand and kissed her back, deeper, tasting the chocolate from the cookies Arden had servedthem earlier. She made a small sound in the back of her throat and he felt his control slip.
When they broke apart, both breathing harder, Maren’s eyes had gone wide and dark.
“Okay,” she whispered. “That was?—”
“Yeah.”
“—really good.”
Colin stroked his thumb along her cheekbone, the same way he’d wanted to do a hundred times since he’d met her. “Can I?—”
“Yes.” She turned her face into his palm and kissed it. “Whatever you’re about to ask, yes.”
He should’ve laughed. Should’ve teased her about not knowing what he was going to say.
Instead he pulled her into his lap.
Maren came willingly, straddling his thighs, her hands landing on his shoulders for balance. She looked down at him with a slightly dazed expression.
“Hi,” she said.
“Hi yourself.”
She bit her lip, and Colin watched her thinking too hard about what came next.
“Hey.” He ran his hands up her sides, feeling the curve of her waist through the soft cotton of her shirt. “We don’t have to?—”
“Iwantto.” The words came fast and certain. Then her voice softened. “I really want to. It’s just been a while and I don’t—I don’t want to use you just because I’m?—”
“Stop.” Colin waited until she met his eyes. “You’re not using me.”
“You don’t know what I was going to say.”
“You were going to say you don’t want to use me because you’re lonely or scared or running from what happened to your sister.” His hands settled on her hips, thumbs stroking through the fabric. “And I’m telling you—you’re not. This isn’t that.”
Maren’s breath hitched. “How do you know?”
“Because I don’t want to use you either.” He pulled her closer, just enough that she had to brace her hands on his chest. “I want to do more than help. I want to be more than just your bodyguard.” The confession came easier than it should have. “I want to keep you. Both of you.”
Maren’s eyes went bright.
“Don’t cry.” Colin brushed his thumb under her eye, catching the tear before it fell. “If you cry, I’m going to think I said something wrong.”
“You didn’t.” She laughed softly, blinking back tears. “You said exactly the right thing.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Maren leaned down and kissed him again. Slower this time. Deeper. Her fingers curled into his shirt and Colin let his hands slide up her back, feeling the warmth of her skin through the soft fabric.
When she rocked against him, Colin groaned into her mouth.
Maren pulled back, eyes bright with mischief. “Was that okay?”
“Do it again and find out.”
