Page 84 of Just Like the Brontë Sisters

“What’s that about?” I asked.

He tossed the notebook onto his bed and stood so close to me that it became hard for us not to breathe in the same rhythm. “I like to make lists,” he whispered.

“Yeah, I get that. But I don’t understand the ones about Jo Beth. And why would she threaten you about me?”

He squeezed his eyes shut. “The last list in the book is about dreams I’ve had.” Speaking seemed to cause him physical pain. “I dream about Jo Beth a lot, and in one dream, she told me to stay away from you.”

His eyes were still closed and he looked so innocent that I just couldn’t be scared. Instead, all I wanted was to ease his pain. I cupped his cheek with my hand and his eyes shot open. The air between us was warm and cold at once, like the tugging that could produce a tornado. “Why?”

“Why, what?” he asked.

“Why did Jo Beth tell you to stay away from me?”

He tilted his head down and pressed his forehead to mine. “It was just a dream, Skylar.”

Our lips weren’t touching, but God, did they want to be. I put my arms around his shoulders. He put his arms around my waist, circling me and holding me close. “Have you had any other dreams about me, Mitch?”

“All the time.”

“Me too.”

Then, finally, he kissed me with such concentration that my entire body heated with desire. His chest crushed against mine and it was entirely different than what I’d felt with Gavin or even with Frank. This was a hunger that could never be satiated, yet his kiss fulfilled me all the same.

But as quickly as it began, it ended when he abruptly dropped his arms to his sides and stepped back. That made me feel like I’d been plucked from my warm bed and thrown outside into a cold, cold night.

“No,” he struggled to say. “This can’t happen.” He ran his hand through his hair, obviously trying to slow his breathing. One glance down at his crotch and I knew he was as aroused as I was, maybe even more.

“I understand,” I said. I started to back out of the room.

“Sky?”

Mitch was sitting on the edge of the bed, right where I had sat only moments ago, when I’d invaded his privacy.

“Yeah?”

He took a sharp inhale. “I’m sorry.”