AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Letting go of the railing, she let out a wobbly laugh, mimicking his pose. The harbor breeze played with her hair again. “You looked like a cornered animal.”
He raised his eyebrows.
“I like animals,” she said. “I wanted to help.”
He studied her. She resisted falling into his gaze. Just.
“That’s exactly how I felt,” he finally said. “Cornered. Trapped. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She smiled. He was so easy to smile at. So easy to be with. “To be fair, Iwasin the middle of daydreaming what it would be like being with you—datingyou, I mean—when what Nora was saying sank into my brain so my initial ‘no’ was more selfish than I’m making out.”
Okay, shehadn’tplanned to confessthat.
Because hisisso easy to be with. So easy to be…to be open with.
He laughed. Her stomach fluttered at the tiny flash of dimples in his cheeks. “If it helps,” he said, his gaze on hers, “I’ve pretty much thought of nothing else but you since the airport.”
Oh Dio. What did she do with that?
Kiss him!
Silence stretched between them for a heartbeat. Elisa swallowed. If she went up on tiptoe and kissed him now, what would he do?
“Whydidyou take off so abruptly back at the airport?” he suddenly asked, his voice low and gentle.
“I…” The knot in her chest let her know it hadn’t gone anywhere. She turned her stare to the Opera House again.I can see the white arcs…Did she tell him she freaked out when she heard another woman’s name? That made her sound a little…unbalanced. Which she kind of was. Sometimes. “I struggle with anxiety,” she said, keeping her stare on the famous building. The truth. The truth was always a good way to start a fake engagement. “It manifests sometimes at the worst moment.”
“I make you anxious?”
Shaking her head, she looked up at him. “No. You make me feel…” She searched for the word. “Brave.”
His nostrils flared. His gaze dropped to her lips for a second. She licked them.
“I really want to kiss you right now, Elisa?” His voice was husky. “Is that okay? Can I kiss you right now? This very second?”
“Call me Lis,” she said. “And absolutely.”
“Hi, Lis,” he murmured, sliding his hands around her waist. “Thank you for being engaged to me.”
A smile curled her lips, and she smoothed her palms up his chest, raising up onto tiptoe. “Any time.”
He chuckled, the sound low and throaty and wonderful. “Until we get married?”
She laughed, just as he tugged her completely to his body and lowered his head to hers.
His lips moved over hers. Not confident or demanding. There was no arrogance to his kiss, nor expectation she surrender to him They brushed hers, hesitant, as if waiting for her response. Tasting with gentle nips, his hands ever so softly cupping her jaw, his fingertips laying lightly on her temples.
A delicious little shudder rocked through her, and she let out a hitching moan of approval, threading her fingers into the hair at his nape. Parting her lips to his.
I taste him…
His tongue touched hers with a tender sweep before he slowly pulled back. A low sigh left him, and he pressed his forehead to hers. “That was nice.”
Her stomach fluttered at the husky quality to his low murmur. “It was.”
With a soft chuckle, he straightened a little more, brushing his thumb along her bottom lip. “Can we do it again?”
She smiled, pulling his head back down to hers. “Only if you don’t stop next time?”
