Page 117 of Power Play

“Yeah.”

My fingers curled into the hem of his shirt, and Ryan’s eyes darkened so quickly that heat moved straight through me.

I had started recognizing that look over the last few weeks, the moment our conversation stopped feeling innocent and every inch between us suddenly mattered. He stood between my knees with his hands against my face, broad enough to block most of the kitchen from view, and all I could think about was sliding my hands beneath his shirt to feel the warm skin I already knew was there.

Ryan’s gaze dropped to my fingers gripping the fabric, then returned to my face with an expression that told me he knew exactly where my thoughts had gone.

“Careful, mi hada.”

“You keep saying that.”

“Because you keep doing shit like this.”

My smile came before I could stop it. “Holding your shirt?”

“You know damn well that isn’t what you’re thinking about.”

He leaned down until his mouth hovered over mine. “What do you want?”

The question had stopped terrifying me as much. Maybe Professor Brown deserved some credit. Maybe Ryan did. Maybe I was simply tired of wanting things silently.

“You.”

His breath changed. “That answer’s going to get us in trouble.”

“You asked.”

“Yeah, I did.”

I slid my hands beneath his shirt, and Ryan’s stomach tightened beneath my palms.

His mouth brushed mine once, soft enough to tease. I chased the kiss before he could pull back, ending whatever game he had planned.

Ryan kissed me hard enough that my fingers clenched against his skin. One hand moved into my hair while the other wrapped around my waist and pulled me forward until the edge of the chair pressed beneath my thighs and his body filled every remaining inch between us.

I made a sound against his mouth, and Ryan answered with a low groan that shot straight through me.

His tongue moved against mine slowly at first, then deeper when I pulled him closer. The kiss carried none of the uncertainty of our first one. We knew each other now. I knew how his breathing changed when I tugged his hair, and he knew the place beneath my ear that made my entire body tighten before his mouth reached it.

Ryan kissed down my jaw, tipping my head back as he laughed against my skin. “You’re learning.”

“Shut up.”

“Make me.”

I grabbed his shirt and pulled him back to my mouth. His hands moved to my waist and lifted me from the chair so quickly I barely had time to gasp before he set me on the edge of the table between the books.

“Ryan.”

“The books can recover.”

“You would kill me if I did this to yours.”

“Depends on the book.”

His mouth covered mine again as my knees opened around his hips. Ryan stepped between them until the heat of his body filled the space I had given him. His hands stayed firm at my waist while mine slid slowly up his chest, feeling the tension gathering beneath my palms as the kiss deepened and everything beyond him started to blur.

I wanted more than kissing now. I wanted to know what happened if he didn’t pull away before either of us crossed the line he had drawn between wanting me and taking this further. The thought tightened something nervous inside my chest, but it didn’t make me move back. Realizing I still wanted to know made the fear sharper.