There is peace.
I’m so happy.
So, of course, this is the moment Talira chooses to appear and shake my foundation and remind me of things I wish with all my heart would justgo away.
Kyran’s hand on my thigh drags my attention off the screen, and I stare at his fingers as they run over the inches of me he can access while he’s driving. Right now, even though we’re obviously together, he is unable to lose himself in staring at me, and it shows. Eyes fixed on the road, he reflects the same icy frostiness as the snow-coated world outside. Detached. Quiet. A blanket of confident presence.
Biting my cheek, I put my phone aside and touch his hand.
Immediately, he stirs, glances at me, melts. Our fingers twine, and he smiles at the street.
My heart swells.
I think…I love him.
I don’t know what else this feeling could possibly be called.
Just thinking of a life without him in it is painful. The fear that he might slip away like Talira did is…agonizing.
“I don’t annoy you?” I ask, softly.
“You don’t.”
“And I’m not too needy, am I?”
“I wish you were needier. I love to be needed by you.”
“Am I still…mean enough for you?”
A short laugh leaves him. “Oh yes. I’m rather fond of how you’re mean to me these days.”
Oh, so Iamstill mean to him these days… I have been desperately trying to be nicer. But— Wait a second. I frown. “Are you talking about yesterday, when we were packing, and you laid a singlecleanshirt on thefloorin the center of our bedroom?”
A delighted sigh leaves him. “I’m talking about howhardyou slammed me into the wall, teeth gritted, as you said,So help me, e-boy, I will take a cheese grater to your skin if you pull this crap at my parents’ house.”
I sink into my scowl. “Well. Because. I would.”
“You then kissed me until I couldn’t breathe, stopped when I was ready to beg, and left me quivering and delirious, sliding to the ground where I watched you stomp away, shake out the shirt, and put it back where it belongs.” Another happy sound, followed by a reverent swear. “It was beautiful.” He draws my hand to his lips and kisses. “I am obsessed with how we play.”
Right, that’s great. Except. “I wasn’t playing. If you pull that nonsense in front of my parents, I am going to go ballistic.”
“Definenonsense.”
This man is going to end me. “Anything that inspires me to wring your neck.”
Mildly, he nods. “Understandable. Choking me in front of your parents isn’t appropriate behavior.”
I am going to lose my mind. “I mean it, Kyran. I know you’re joking right now, but wecannotforget ourselves and wind up snogging in front of my parents.”
“My self-control is impeccable. You’re the one I have to watch out for.”
He is…so right. He is actually so incredibly right. After that first night, he’s been taking this cute pining angle and letting me lead all intimacy, for fear I might think he’s only interested in me for physical stuff I guess. Either that, or he prefers when I lead. Who knows? Who cares?
The point is,I’mthe one who keeps closing the final inch between us. I’ve been ravishing him like some kind of feral creature. He’s alladoring puppy dog, and I’m a wolf starved.
Caving in on myself, I whimper. “This is going to be a disaster.”
“Why? You don’t think your parents will like me?”
