Is he small?Absolutely not.
Am I?Yeesh.Also, no.
Therefore, I’d rather us not break all the bones in our bodies when he loses his balance and we go careening down the stairs.
For self-preservation reasons, I open my eyes.
It is too late. Lukas has already swung my legs off him, stood, and scooped me up.
Losing my book on the couch, I squeak as he hefts me against his chest like I’m a petite princess. Opposite of a petite princess, I grip onto him for dear life, catching his hair in my grip.
His voice rumbles, “If you start pulling my hair, I’m not sure I’ll make it to the bed in one piece.”
“Sorry!” I free the silken strands, latch onto his shoulders, cling.
Nonchalant, he strides to the stairs, taking them steadily before delivering me into the soft cocoon of his unmade bed. Lost amid the rumpled sheets, I barely have a moment to suck in a breath before Lukas settles on top of me. Palms planted on either side of my head, he smirks, kneeling around me, eyes agleam, dark hair resting over his broad shoulders. The strands shift where they fall beside my cheek, tickling my neck, as he dips and presses a kiss to my forehead.
My eyes close, and peace overcomes me.
Even though I know this is it.
Friends or not, Lukas is aman, and I’m not oblivious to the attraction between us. He doesn’t leer or sexualize me, but there is a heat in his eyes sometimes that relays nothing more than blatantdesire.
Tomorrow morning, I’ll leave my bunny off my calendar while I wrestle with what it means to have someone I almost trusted ravish me. Or…maybe…just maybe I’ll put the bunnyin its place anyway and recognize, fully, that if I’m ravished tonight, it will not have been anything close to assault.
Already, I’m fairly sure we’re notjustfriends. I may neither have experience with friendship nor romance, but even I know there’s something more here. Something wonderful.
Lukas’s hand settles against my waist, fingers indenting my softness. His lips move to my cheek, the corner of my eye, the curve of my jaw. “What do you say when you want something from me?” he murmurs in my ear.
I shiver as his breath coasts against my skin. “Please.”
His smile spreads against my cheek. “Do you wanna stay here tonight, E-clair-a?”
Desperately. “Will it be a bother?” I ask. “I’m probably a bed hog. I sleep like a starfish.”
“Good. Cover my entire bed inyou.”
I flush. “Are you…sure you want that?”
“Yes. Completely.”
My heart can barely handle this.
His fingers move from my waist to my cheek and caress.
This is nowhere near friendship-level-friendly.
I know that.
I’m not… I’mnotstupid.
A sound far fromfriendship-level-friendlyescapes me when his mouth hits my neck, warm, partially open, kissing. He stops, whispers, “You can stop me, can’t you?”
Gripping the sheets, I remember whose name is on my wrist and fight for a breath. “Yes.”
“If you want to, you can, can’t you?”
I repeat, “Yes.”
