His hand leaves the book and comes down on my ankle. He gives it a little squeeze that sends chills straight through my body. "I'll wait for you."
I bring the book back up and can see him watching me from my peripheral. His gaze slowly scans my body, and my body starts to warm, and I can’t focus on the words on the page.
Iwatchashe dogears his book, and it makes me cringe the slightest bit. Lucky for me, I always have a bookmark or scrap of paper laying on my nightstand. I slide an old receipt in place, then close the book.
"What did you think, Night? This is, what, the second romance you have read, right?"
"It is, and that was something else. Do most of these books start out that way?"
I cock my head. "Do you mean in such an intimate way?"
"Yeah."
"No, not all of them."
He sets the book down next to him.
"What did you think about the guy sneaking out in the middle of the night?" I ask him.
"Didn't surprise me."
Shock overtakes me. I hop onto my knees and slap my hands on my thighs.
"What! That scene was so loving and sweet, and he made her feel things she never felt before and then he just left!"
Night laughs. "Alright, alright. It was pretty messed up, but it's a dude. What did you expect?"
I slump down, my head shaking slowly back and forth. "So, you're saying that's actually a normal thing men do?"
He sits up a little straighter, his leg slides off the edge of the bed and he bends the other in.
"Not all men are like that, only the ones who haven't grown up yet."
His hand slides over my knee, and I watch as he grips it.
"Is this okay?"
I nod my head.
"What about this?" His other hand cups my cheek, his thumb brushing across my cheekbone.
There it is again, my heart skipping a beat. I lean into his hand. "Yeah."
The tips of his fingers move through my hair to the back of my head, and he slowly pulls me to him. I let him.
"I've been fighting this urge since we started reading, but I can't anymore."
Our lips meet, making a small whimper sneak up my throat. His hand that is on my knee slowly travels up my thigh to my hip and he pulls me the rest of the way to him. I rise to my knees. He props up on one, his foot anchoring him to the floor.
My head falls back as his lips leave mine and start kissing my neck. "I want you, Piper. In so many ways." His eyes are full of lust as I meet them. “I know we just met, and I don't know what it is, but I feel like we were meant to find each other."
Did he really just say what I have been feeling since our first date? Wait, am I in a dream? My eyes dart back and forth between his. I'm honestly speechless.
"I spoke too soon, didn't I? I couldn't not tell you."
"No, no, it's fine, really. It's just, I felt like that after our first date, too. I thought I was crazy. Well, maybe not crazy, but who actually believes in love at first sight? Not that I love you. I mean, that would be crazy."
"I know what you mean. It's something made up for fairy tales. It doesn't really happen in real life, but I think it may have for us."