And for one brief, reckless second, I wonder what they would feel like around my neck.
The thought sends heat rushing through me.
Everett’s eyes darken slightly. “Careful,” he murmurs.
“Why?” I ask.
“Because if you keep looking at me like that,” his thumb brushes along my jaw, and his fingers touch that spot I want him to hold, “I might lose my self-control.”
My pulse races.
“Maybe I want you to,” I say.
He smiles slowly. Then he wraps his fingers around the back of my neck and pulls my head down toward him and kisses me. Soft and slow. The kind of kiss that starts gently but promises something more.
My fingers curl into his shirt as the kiss deepens. His hand tightens slightly in my hair. The warmth surrounds me completely.
When we finally pull back, our foreheads rest together.
His voice is low. “You, okay?”
I smile softly. “More than okay.”
His hand slides along my back again. Pulling me closer. Then he kisses me again. And this time, neither of us holds back.
21
Everett
MAY
Iwake up before the sun.
For a few seconds, I don’t move, I just stare at the ceiling, letting my brain slowly piece together where I am.
Violet’s apartment. In her bed, with her beside me.
Her head rests against my shoulder, one arm draped lightly across my chest like she’d fallen asleep there and never moved again. Her hair is spread across the pillow, messy from sleep, and the faint smell of her shampoo fills the room.
Last night replays like a movie in my mind. Cooking in her kitchen, her eyes glued to me. The conversations drifted from childhood stories to confessions about past relationships.
The kiss on the couch that turned into another. And another.
The way Violet looked at me last night was something I never want to forget. Soft skin, shaky breaths, the sound of my nameleaving her lips. One night fueled by tension that had been building for far too long. At some point, we had fallen asleep tangled together. And now, morning light is slowly creeping through the window.
I turn my head slightly to look at her. Just as beautiful as ever.
Her breathing is slow and steady against me, and for a moment, I wonder what it would be like to wake up next to her like this every morning.
It had only been a couple months since I walked into the café and saw her. But somehow, she already feels like a part of my life. That scares me, because it means I have something to lose again.
I shift carefully, trying not to wake her. Her arm slides off my chest as I move. She stirs slightly but doesn’t wake.
I quietly get out of bed and pull my clothes back on, glancing once more at the clock on the nightstand. Still early at five thirty.
Early enough that the town wouldn’t be awake yet. Lavender Creek has eyes everywhere. If I walk out of Violet’s apartment at the wrong time of day, people will notice. And once people notice, the entire town would know by lunchtime.
I don’t want to keep us a secret, but living in a small town sometimes means you have to sneak around until you are ready for people to know your business. It’s not like living in a big city where you can go to the opposite side unnoticed. We haven’t talked about our relationship yet, so until we decide to announce it, this is what I’ll do.
