“And what if I do?” He stares down at me as if in a challenge.
Have I mentioned I love challenges?
“Then I might make you stay out and dance with me all night.” My saccharine grin is followed by an equal one on his face.
“I can think of worse ways to spend my night.” His voice turns to a gruffer rumble and I feel exhilaration shoot through my veins.
This is one of those moments that feels too damn good to be true. Never in my life did I think he would be flirting with me. For one, I’ve never seen him flirt with anyone ever. And two, I’m pretty sure my brother would have a few things to say about it, but we’re both adults now. Weston will get happy in the same pants he got unhappy in.
The tempo of the music changes, slowed down to the point of a sway. Rhett's thumb finds the bare skin on my lower back where my shirt has risen. He rubs it in slow, tantalizing circles. My breath feels like it’s caught in my throat. My hands can barely reach around his neck.
One song quickly turned into three, and God, I could get high off the way he’s looking at me. His brown eyes are bright and that smile of his isn’t hidden. It’s stretching wide across his face. I long to bring my hand up to his jaw, and close the distance between us.
His eyes snag on my lips, and I wonder if he is thinking the same thing I am. What would happen if we just went for it? Hisgaze feels like fire, and it spreads over me with his perusal. I’m burning up for him and the only way to satiate the heat is his lips on mine.
My eyes can’t pull away from his full lips, they’re like a beacon and I’m honing in.
“Aspen, I think we’re playing with fire here.”
“You planning on burning me?” Little does he know I already feel lit from within.
“God, I can’t think straight with you.” He closes his eyes for a second.
“Then don’t think.” My heart feels like it’s beating a million miles an hour. It feels like I’m in a dream; I’m half tempted to pinch myself. My dreams could never do him justice with the way he is looking at me right now. That fire in his eyes. The flush on his neck.
My thumbs move on their own accord, and my heart isn’t the only one that’s racing. My thumb barely rests on his pulse, and I can feel it hammering like it’s begging to be freed.
He opens his eyes and they are filled with torment, as if I can see him wrestling with himself.
The tension of the moment has me feeling more confident than ever, and my hand moves from his neck to the wispy hairs hanging out the back. My fingers slowly thread through his thick locks.
“Aspen…” he says, his fingers move to my hips, fingertips digging in.
“Do you feel it, too?” I ask in an attempt to draw the truth out of him.
“We can’t.”
“Last time I checked, we’re both adults. But, if you don’t want this…” I trail off, pulling back. I like the guy, but there’s no way in hell you’ll catch me begging for any man's acceptance. Thisone in front of me, I might do some persuading, but begging is a hard no.
As I try to slip out of his hands, he pulls me tighter. “I didn’t say that. But you’ve been drinking.”
“I had one drink all night and I didn’t even finish it.”
His eyes flash open. “Then why…”
I cut him off. “You know why. Stop fighting it, Rhett.”
He heaves out a sigh.
“Fuck it.”
His lips meet mine and I swear to God the world stops spinning.
It’s like electricity bounces between us. It takes us no time to sink into each other. I’ve day dreamed this a million times. And a million times my daydreams undersold me on what the reality of it would be. I thought the movies were full of shit when they said a kiss could feel…life changing. It turns out they’re not.
“God, Aspen.” He pulls away and I grip my hands onto his flannel shirt.
“Don’t think, just do.”
