But what then? What happens after this attraction unravels? When my mind is no longer intoxicated by her eyes, her skin, her scent? What happens when reality sets in?
Then someone would get hurt. And that someone will be her.
I took a deep breath and dropped my arm to my side, stepping back and trying to act like she didn’t affect me. “Well, your lunch is burnt. I doubt anyone could eat those.”
“Yeah.” She glanced at the ruined pancakes. “Kind of what you’d expect from a first time.”
I cocked a brow. “You’ve never made pancakes before?”
“I have not.” She flipped her locks over her shoulder. “In fact, it’s been years since I ate one.”
“Because?”
She looked over my shoulder, her eyes glimmering as she shifted from one leg to the other. “Because my mom used to make us pancakes for breakfast every Sunday.”
A twinge of sympathy pulsed in my chest. I related to her grief. Felt it in the pit of my stomach. “Then why did you choose to make pancakes?”
“I dunno. It just didn’t occur to me to make anything else.” She shrugged. “And it seemed easy enough. But apparently, I was wrong.”
“Apparently.” I grinned as I glanced at the pancakes. “I have to be honest here. I wouldn’t be able to eat those with a straight face if I tried not to hurt your feelings.”
She chucked everything in the trashcan and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, a smear of flour sticking to her cheek. It amazed me how that one little thing could make her look more fragile than she appeared to be.
“You have a little—” I pointed at the smear on her face.
“Oh.” She wiped her cheek but didn’t get it all. “Is it gone?”
“No. Let me.” I inched closer and reached out without thinking twice, brushing my thumb along the smear. It was an innocent touch, one that wasn’t tainted with sexual intentions—until I felt her smooth skin beneath my fingertip. My senses heightened; every inch of my body hyperaware of hers. My skin prickled with the need to feel hers while my tongue craved a taste. It’s been years since I’ve wanted someone as much as I wanted Sienna now. Years since my body experienced the thrill of overcoming the mind’s inhibitions.
I allowed my thumb to caress her cheek longer than it took to wipe away the flour. Her sweet yet sensual scent wafted between us, filling the distance with an allure that made my cock ache. The shade of her red hair seemed strange against the tanned skin of my hand, yet I fucking loved it. Lush, soft curls to fist and pull while I took her from behind.
Our eyes met, her irises a reflection of what I felt crackling in my bones.
Attraction.
Desire.
Sex.
“You shouldn’t be here.” My fingers continued up the side of her face.
“I know.” Her voice was a subtle murmur.
“Then why are you here?”
“I’m not sure.” She leaned into my touch, and I should have stopped it. I should have stepped away, put distance between us so I could clear my mind and breathe. But as my fingers brushed down a strand of fiery red curls, my hand continued over her shoulder, gliding across her collarbone as if I had no control over it.
She took a step closer, and her feet touched mine. The scent of her skin fused with the freshly washed smell of her hair wrapped around me, and I could hardly take a breath without fueling the desire that raged inside me. If I leaned down and inched forward just a little, our lips would meet, and I’d be able to taste her again. Have her kiss force new life into my body, which had been nothing but an empty shell…until her.
“Noah.” She placed her palm against my chest, and I swear to God I felt electricity run through my veins. “What is this?”
My gaze moved sharply from where I touched her shoulder to her parting lips. My head was a minefield of thoughts, thinking about everything I wanted to do to her—my cock throbbing with the need to feel her from the inside.
I swallowed. “I don’t know what this is.”
“Maybe we should try to find out.” Her fingertips felt like silk against my skin as her touch moved up the side of my arm. My entire body was lit, adrenaline surging through me like a violent wave rapidly smothering my self-control.
Just one taste.