Don’t scare her off, dumbass.
I knew I should listen to the damn voice in the back of my head, but the need to taste her was too much. My head started to lower, but instead of touching my lips to hers, I pressed them to her forehead.
I felt her jerk as if a bolt of lightning had shot through her entire body, and I could understand why. Just the touch of my lips to her forehead had made everything inside of me come alive in a way that made me realize I had only been half-awake until right that moment.
My lips moved from her forehead to her temple, then down to her cheek. I heard her soft gasp and knew she was fighting what I was making her feel.
She tangled her fingers in my shirt as if she wanted to pull me closer. I felt the hesitation in her touch. She was scared, but I wasn’t about to give her a reason to second-guess me right then.
Pulling my head back, I hugged her close for a long moment, enjoying the feel of her soft body pressed into my hardness.
“Kale …” she breathed against my neck.
“Shh,” I murmured, sliding both my hands around her waist.
Lifting her, I carried her the few steps over to the sink and sat her on the counter. Then I pressed another kiss to her forehead before moving away.
Santana sat there, quietly biting her lip while I did the dishes. I didn’t say a word, which wasn’t something I normally did. I almost always had something to say, but right then, I knew words would only interfere. She needed time to figure out if I was worth her time, and I was willing to stay as quiet as I needed so she could reach the only conclusion I could live with.
When the last dish was on the draining rack, I let out the water and dried my hands on a dish towel. Grabbing my watch, I then put it in my pocket.
Hating to leave her, but knowing it had to be done, I leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “Can I see you tomorrow?”
“To-Tomorrow?” She was surprised by my request. I wondered if she was disappointed I wasn’t asking to stay the night, or if she had thought I wouldn’t want to see her again.
“Yeah.” I rested my hip against the counter by her leg.
Without thinking about what I was doing, I covered her knee with my hand, tapping out a beat with my fingers that only I could hear in my head on her jeans-covered inner thigh.
“I really enjoyed today. I was thinking we could do it all over again tomorrow.”
Her tongue slipped out and brushed over her tortured bottom lip. I clenched my jaw to keep from groaning at the slight sheen it left, aching to do a little biting and licking of my own.
“Oh,” she whispered, her attention on my hand and what my fingers were now doing. “I … I thought you had to see your friend tomorrow.”
I shrugged, my tapping fingers turning into slow, little strokes up and down her inner thigh. “It’s just a band meeting. It won’t take long.”
She captured my hand with her own, but she didn’t push it away, only halting my adventurous fingers.
“I can’t think when you do that,” she muttered.
I grinned, liking that I could distract her
so easily. “So …?”
Her tongue swiped across her lips again. “I have a few shoots in the morning, but I should be done by three.”
“Can I pick you up? You don’t have to cook if you’d rather not. Takeout is fine. Anything you want.”
She started to toss her hair over her shoulder, but I beat her to it, taking a moment to savor the silkiness brushing through my fingers again.
“S-sure,” she murmured.
“Text me the address,” I told her with a smile while reluctantly taking two steps away from her. “I’ll see you tomorrow, doll.”
She jumped down from the counter, following me to the door. When I opened it and started to step through, she caught my hand.
“Kale,” she breathed my name.