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“I want to kiss you,” he rasped, his lips almost touching mine as he spoke.
“Please,” I whispered in return.
“Does that mean what I think it does?”
I knew what he was asking. Were we finally going to take this further? Were we going to see how this played out? My belly swooped, and my heart pounded even faster.
I knew what I wanted. I wanted Kenan. I wanted to see what might happen.
“Yes,” I whispered against his lips, just before he brought his mouth fully to mine, claiming it with a deep kiss.
He shifted, angling toward me and sliding his hand into my hair, cupping my nape. He deepened our kiss with his tongue sweeping into my mouth. I arched into him, shifting restlessly, needing more, needing all of it, needing him now. I didn’t know how long we kissed until a loud sound in the movie caused us to break apart abruptly. We were both breathing raggedly.
“Let’s go,” I whispered once I could speak.
We gathered our blankets and pillows and the empty popcorn container. Kenan tossed it in the trash bin on the way out. Seconds later, we practically sprinted down the hallway.
When we reached the doors to our rooms, we stopped and studied each other. My pulse shot into the stratosphere, my heart pounding so hard and fast I could barely think above the cacophony.
A haze of need clouded my thoughts. All I knew was the drumbeat ofKenan, please, now.I needed relief from this incessant wanting.
He stared down at me. “Your place or mine?” His voice was raspy, and his lips curled at the corners in a self-deprecating grin.
I snorted. I needed that to relax me, even if it was just barely. “Mine.”
“Lead the way.”
I was so flustered that I didn’t even know where the key was for a moment. I shook my head, rolling my eyes, as I turned away and fumbled in my pockets to find it.
I dropped it on the floor twice before Kenan leaned down to scoop it up. “Let me try,” he said, laughter lacing his words.
I giggled when he dropped the key another time. “Fourth time’s a charm,” I teased when he fit the key in the lock and opened the narrow door.
“Something like that.” He handed me the key, and I set it beside my purse on the small counter just inside the door.
The ferry cabins were small. They were designed for practicality, not for luxury. With Kenan filling the space, it felt even smaller. Topping six feet, he was a tall man with broad shoulders.
I cleared my throat, looking up at him. We both still held pillows and blankets in our arms. Kenan reached for the armful I held. As I let it go, he tossed the pile onto the upper bunk.
I’d stepped out of the way, and my back was against the wall opposite the small bunks. We hadn’t made it more than two steps inside, but there was no extra space. Maybe three feet existed between the wall and the two bunk beds built into a tiny alcove.
I took a shaky breath and licked my lips nervously. He turned to face me, his blue eyes darkening as we studied each other. It wasn’t as if we didn’t already know each other well, but at this moment, it felt as if he swept away all of my defenses with just a flick of his wrist. They felt paper thin and flimsy. That need still drummed through me, chanting his name.
I opened my mouth to say something, anything. In a single stride, he stood right in front of me. He rested one palm on the wall, just above my shoulder.
“Tell me what you’re thinking.” His low and raspy voice sent a hot shiver chasing over my skin.
I wanted to say something witty as if I wasn’t a bundle of nerves twined with a need burning up inside.
As I stared into Kenan’s gaze, I found I couldn’t laugh my way through this. We knew each other too well. “I’m thinking maybe this is crazy and really stupid, but I want you.”
As soon as my words slipped out, anxiety jolted through me. Maybe that was too honest, too direct. I’d exposed myself.
Kenan never looked away from me, lifting his other hand to slide it through the ends of my hair, where it fell over my shoulder.
“Maybe it is crazy, and maybe it is stupid, but I want —”
When he paused, it felt as if cinders drifted down through the air, heating the space around us.
