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“You do?”
She nodded. “You and Beast over there are the ones I know I can trust.”
One side of his mouth quirked into a half-grin. “Me and the beast, huh? I’ll take it.”
“Does this mean that we… can try again?” She murmured the question under her breath, more embarrassed than anything else that she was even asking him. She wasn’t entirely sure if that was where this conversation was going.
“Do you want me to kiss you?” Henry asked.
Athena nodded. “Very much.”
He pulled her closer, and this time she was ready for him. His mouth captured hers, so gently, so sweetly, that the tension only continued to mount. She leaned into him, craving more.
More of his touch.
More of the tenderness that he’d shown her from the very beginning.
A soft moan slipped from his lips, and he pulled back. There was a reluctance in his eyes that she hadn’t been prepared for. Pain flared to life deep, deep down where she had buried the rejection of anyone she’d wanted to get close to. Athena shoved it back where it belonged. “Was I not good enough—”
Henry placed a finger to her lips, cutting her off. “You… are… everything I have ever wanted.”
Confusion reared its ugly head. “Then why—”
He shook his head, releasing her as he took a step back. “Something about you makes me lose my head—and that’s not something I’m willing to risk.”
She wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly cold. Her eyes darted away, and she nibbled on the inside of her cheek as she tried to make sense of what he was trying to say. “That doesn’t sound very good.”
Lunging forward, Henry reached for one of her hands and gently pried it away from her body. He slipped his fingers between hers and covered their clasped hands with his other one. “It’s not bad.”
It took all her willpower to meet his eyes again.
He chuckled—that familiar, nervous laugh that made her want to join in. “The thing is… I haven’t really had a serious girlfriend. I’ve dated, but I’ve never cared much to turn it into something more—not until now.”
Her brows shot up. He’d never had a girlfriend. That was a hard thought to swallow—mostly because it didn’t sound at all feasible. She didn’t think he’d lie to her about something like this, though. Henry had been nothing but honest with her. She didn’t have any reason to doubt him.
“It’s embarrassing, I know.” He tightened his hold on her. “There’s something about you that is so… irresistible. I can’t stop thinking about you. No matter how hard I’ve tried—”
“You’ve tried to stop thinking about me?” Her voice was no louder than that of a mouse.
He shut his eyes and shook his head again. “That’s not what I meant. What I want to say is… sheesh, you make me so nervous.”
Athena smiled.
“What I want to say,” he repeated, “is that you do things to me—things that I didn’t think were possible. I thought I’d never find someone who was worth spending time with. And I’m glad I was wrong.”
Her smile widened. “Really?”
He brought her hand to his lips, then brushed his lips to the underside of her wrist. “Really.” He heaved a shuddering sigh. “How about we ease into it, huh? Take it one day at a time.” He grazed her jawline with his thumb. “And maybe next time I steal a kiss, it won’t be so hard to control myself.”
Based on her past experiences, she thought he’d controlled himself quite well. While she couldn’t say she knew what he was experiencing deep inside, she would like to think she’d felt the same kind of spark that was making him feel like he was losing control.
Her heart was still hammering against her ribs, demanding to be set free like a caged bird. She couldn’t believe he was still holding her hands with how clammy they’d become. It was getting more difficult by the second to stay on her own two feet after the kiss they’d shared—and it hadn’t been nearly long enough. She needed to stop obsessing over that kiss, even though it had been the best she’d ever had.
Thankfully, there was something else she was able to shift her thoughts to.
Henry pulled her into him, holding her against his body while they each disappeared into their own worlds.
Henry thought she was enough.
