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“Your baby brother is ruthless,” I murmur, even as I silently agree. Like the Huxley men, I’m fiercely protective and have been that way since my little sister was born.
“Reminds me of someone else I know,” she says easily. Her lips tug up a little in the corners.
“Come here and let me clean that up.” She scoots to the edge of the cushion and plops her feet between mine. Every one of my muscles goes tight, and I force in a deep breath and will myself to relax. She doesn’t need me acting like a caveman right now.
Even if she’s always watching me with heat in her eyes.
I dig through the kit, find an antiseptic wipe, tear open the foil, and focus on the small cut in her skin.
“You smell good,” she murmurs as I reach out with the little square of damp cloth.
“Thanks.”
“You should bottle it. You’d make a fortune.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Uh-huh.” She closes her eyes as I start to clean her wound. “Fresh-cut wood, pine sap, and sunshine. All the things that remind me of you.”
My fingers still. I’m not surprised she’s noticed all those little details. Pie has always been observant. But feeling that attention so focused on me makes me want to pull her into my arms and kiss her until we’re both breathless. I want to lose myself in this woman and never be found.
I stare at her mouth. When I flick my gaze up, I find her staring at my lips.
“Pie. . .”
“Hmm?”
Knock it off, Dawson.
I rummage through the kit and find an antiseptic cream. As I twist the cap off, my muscles are tight, almost trembling. Being in her space, in the dim light, alone. . . it’s so intimate. My cock is at half-staff. Why did I think I could tend to her without losing my mind?
I dab on the ointment, and she inhales a sharp breath. “Sorry.”
“Not your fault.”
Feels like it is.
I put the cap back on and drop the tube into the box. The air is thick with anticipation and unspoken words. Half a decade of them. I wish—
Piper leans forward and presses her lips to mine.
FOUR
piper
There’s a moment of stillness when I press my lips against Hunter’s. A shocked second where my brain and my heart can’t believe what’s happening. His warm breath fans against my cheeks, and he’s as steady as a stone. My nerve endings rejoice, and a wave of rightness washes through me.
This is it. I was right all along.
Hunter’s hand slides up my throat, cupping my jaw. I grab the front of his sweater, and a moan bubbles up my throat. There’s a resounding groan from him, and he lifts his head. I blink up at him in the dim light.
“Are you sure?” His gorgeous hazel eyes search my face.
Trust Hunter to check in with me. That’s how I lost my heart to him in the first place.
Am I sure that I want him? That I’ve been dreaming of this kiss for years? That my body is on fire for him, and the only way to soothe the flames is to jump headlong into the blaze?
“Absolutely.”
