Page 261 of Romeo

She laughed, and I dropped back onto the edge of the mattress. “Besides,” I added, “I know exactly what would happen if I was there.”

Her voice softened. “What?”

I let the silence sit long enough that I could almost feel her waiting. “I’d kiss you.”

That quieted her completely.

The last time I’d kissed Fiona, I’d spent the next several weeks reminding myself why stopping had been the right choice. She’d made that harder every time she brought it up.

“You already did that,” she said.

“You kissed me.”

“You kissed me back.”

“I’m not denying participation.”

She laughed softly. “Participation?”

“I was trying to be respectful.”

“That doesn’t sound like you.”

“Mean.”

“Accurate.”

I smiled. “Fine. You surprised the shit out of me, kissed me, and I spent the next few minutes trying to remember I was supposed to have self-control.”

Her breathing changed.

Not the startled gasp this time.

Slower.

Quieter.

I felt it anyway.

“You stopped,” she said.

“Barely.”

“I didn’t ask you to.”

“No.” My fingers tightened slightly around the phone. “You didn’t.”

The memory of her face afterward rose with irritating clarity. The challenge in her eyes. The flush in her cheeks. The way she’d looked at me like she already knew exactly how much it had cost me to step back.

Fiona broke the silence. “Would you stop next time?”

I rubbed my palm over my jaw. “If you wanted me to.”

“That isn’t what I asked.”

A laugh escaped me, low and helpless. “You are a menace tonight.”

“I asked a question.”