Page 52 of The Ache That Stayed

Goosebumps spread across my skin. I clenched my thighs tighter as a small bead of sweat slipped from my temple down my neck.

His movements were slow, deliberate. Like every step towards me was calculated and not rushed or embarrassed. I would swear he seemed more than happy to do it.

He claimed the space between us inch by inch.

The firelight painted him in bronze and shadow, turning him into something less human. More instinct. More hunger. More dangerous than anything that should have existed in my living room.

Blood rushed through my body so fast it made me dizzy.

My breaths came out uneven, chest rising in shallow bursts as my dry throat worked hard to swallow.

Mistake one: no bra.

The thin fabric of my tee did nothing to hide what the cold and adrenaline and him were doing to me. My nipples were painfully hard beneath my tee and I couldn’t seem to peel my eyes off the beast of a man that was crawling toward me.

I was sure he could see every reaction I was so painfully trying to control, but my traitorous body refused to hide. I think he may have enjoyed watching me unravel.

His eyes flicked toward my chest once. Slow. Knowing.

The corner of his mouth twitched and his grey eyes darkened.

They were no longer the cool colour of winter. They looked dark as night.

The asshole knew exactly what he was doing.

Don’t break. Don’t fold.

Mistake two: tiny fucking sleep shorts with nothing underneath. And the sudden, humiliating awareness of how damp they felt.

God.

My grip tightened around the Snickers bar. The wrapper crinkled loudly in silence.

He didn’t stop, kept crawling.

Closer.

And closer until he was right in front of me. Close enough that I could feel the heat from him. Close enough that if I moved my foot an inch, I would touch him. Neither of us moved for a second.

My breath turned shallow and unsteady. My chest was heaving now like I had run a fucking marathon.

What the fuck was wrong with me?

I swallowed and sat up straighter. He leaned forward and slowly dragged his nose across my knee and inhaled.

Could he smell my arousal?

I clenched my thighs tighter. My body felt like a volcano, about to blow up with heat. My stomach dropped, my mind went blank.

What was happening to me?

This was Santino, god dammit.

Without breaking eye contact, he lifted his head and took a slow bite from the Snickers bar. His mouth briefly brushed my fingers and my whole body tingled.

The contact was barely there, but it still felt like a spark under my skin. My traitorous body let out the tiniest, most helpless sound.

Fuck.