“I want to give you the world,
whatever you ask it’s never too much.
Anything it takes to make you mine.
Please believe me when I say,
this is real.
Oh baby, this is real.”
The whole time he sings I can barely contain my emotions. Everything I’ve put into avoiding him, to keeping him at arm’s length, is ripped away.
It’s only me, him, and the sound of his voice wrapping around us in this tiny room. There’s no denying this anymore.
As his voice fades and the last notes of the piano linger in the air, we look at each other, there’s so little distance between us and it heats from the intensity radiating between us.
My eyes flick down to his lips, and his breath catches. He presses a warm hand to my cheek, fingers tangling in my hair.
Neither of us moves, only a breath between us waiting for the other to make the first move.
I know I’ll have to be the one to close the distance, after all I’ve done to keep him at arm’s length. Getting to know him, only to avoid him. It’s funny how I think of him as being not a good guy, but really I’m the one who’s been cold and distant.
His fingers flex against my face as if he’s fighting to not pull me closer.
I close my eyes and before I can second-guess myself I press my lips to his.
He doesn’t move at first. I think maybe I’ve shocked him—I think I’ve shocked myself too.
I start to pull away in embarrassment, but then his left hand joins the right in cupping my face and he angles his mouth over mine. He deepens the kiss, taking and giving, breathing life into me. I’ve never had a kiss feel like this one before. Simultaneously igniting a fire within me and turning me into ice.
I press closer to him, seeking, searching, needing.
He grabs my leg, hooking it over his hip until I’m sitting fully in his lap. Normally I would be embarrassed. I’ve been with guys, but my experience is limited and I’m not the boldest person.
He tilts my head back, trailing a scorching row of kisses down my neck before he reclaims my lips once more.
I’ve never understood why some people use the word devour when describing a kiss, but now I get it, because it’s exactly what he’s doing to me.
Completely and utterly devouring me.
His kiss reaches into the deepest part of my soul, awakening something I didn’t even know slumbered there. It roars at finally being unleashed and I roll my hips against his, my whole body aching. I tremble with need.
If I thought this heat simmering between us was strong before our lips touched, it’s now enough to decimate the world around us. I kiss him back like my life depends on it, without him I’ll cease to exist.
I need more, though.
I slide my hands under his shirt, his skin heated beneath my palms. He lets out a throaty growl and it stirs something inside me.
I push his shirt up higher and he lifts his arms so I can remove it completely.
His hands move down to my hips, his fingers digging in with a bruising pressure. Something about it makes me feel more tethered to his soul.
If I was smart I’d stop this right here, right now, but I’m tired of doing the right thing. I’m tired of always being the good girl. I’m tired of denying myself what I want.
And I want Hollis Wilder more than I want anything else in this world.
I want to keep feeling this magic humming within my veins.