Luka was kissing me back. That was enough.
His fingers remained wrapped around my wrist while my hand settled against his jaw. For a second he went very still. Then he leaned into the touch, and every coherent thought I’d been hanging onto vanished. There was only Luka standing impossibly close, his breath unsteady against mine, one hand still gripping my wrist as though letting go wasn’t an option.
Fuck, I would’ve let him stay that way all night if that was what he wanted.
I backed him against the wall next to the bed, my body pressed to his, unable to keep still. I flicked my tongue along his lower lip, andJesus, his moan…
Then my phone started vibrating across the desk.
The sound cut through the room so abruptly that I jerked back.
For a second neither of us moved, both our chests heaving.
Luka still had hold of my wrist. My hand was still against his face.
The phone kept vibrating.
“It could be important,” I said.
The excuse sounded thin.
Luka’s grip loosened slowly.
I stepped away before I could change my mind and crossed to the desk. Mark’s name flashed across the screen.
Of course.
I answered on the last vibration. “Yeah.” My voice cracked on that single syllable.
Mark launched straight into schedule changes, meeting times, and adjustments for the next few days.
I listened, answered where necessary, and stared at the wall while my pulse gradually remembered how to behave.
“Got it,” I said eventually. “I’ll be there.”
The call ended. Silence settled over the room again.
When I turned around, Luka was standing near the door. He’d put a few feet between us, but not much.
“Luka.”
He stopped with his fingers curled around the handle.
I dragged a hand through my hair. “We’ve got the team event in four days.” He looked at me over his shoulder, and I did my best to breathe. “Can we not blow up our lives until after we’ve skated?”
Luka let out a slow breath, then the corner of his mouth tightened. “I cannot pretend this did not happen.”
“Good. Because neither can I.”
His eyes lifted to mine. After a moment he nodded. “After the team event.”
“After,” I confirmed.
This time he opened the door.
I stood there listening to his footsteps fade down the corridor.
Then I laughed and dragged both hands through my hair. My heartbeat was still nowhere near normal. There was a fluttering in mystomach that I couldn’t ignore. Warmth radiated through every inch of my body.
