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The storm outside had nothing on us, because when I shifted forward, stretching my arm out along the back of the couch, the tips of my fingers brushed against the wild mess of her hair and that slight touch felt like it rocked the foundations of the entire house. With my thumb and forefinger, I tested the silky softness of the strands and hummed quietly.
Waiting until she fixed her slightly unfocused gaze backonto mine, I breathed in the heady sensation of electricity that bounced back and forth between me and her.
Lightning bolts.
Dangerous and wild, highly unpredictable. I wanted to absorb it into my skin and let it ratchet up this moment between us.
Intensity rolled between us, sprawling across the room, a slight crackle in the air that I could feel over my skin.
Do something,I thought.Do the scary thing.
So I did.
“Truth or dare,” I said simply, winding that tiny piece of hair around my finger, then letting it fall. “I’ll go first.”
Chapter 31
Poppy
I was off the couch before I registered the decision to move, heart thrashing, brain scrambling for clarity.
When the distance between us was something that allowed me to breathe, I turned, hands digging into my hair as I stared at him. “Truth or dare,” I repeated in a whisper.
Jax’s eyes bored into mine—so bright and intense that my lungs were frozen trying to pull in air. “That’s what you wanted, right?”
My eyebrows arched, a disbelieving scoff escaping my opened lips. “Yes, when I was drunk. My decision-making was not at its best that night.”
Jax stood slowly, his gaze never dropping from mine. “Beg to differ, angel.” The sharp rise and fall of my chest was pronounced, mainly because I was having a very hard time breathing, but his attention never wavered from my face. “Which is it, Poppy? Truth or dare?”
The room spun, my head spinning with it, and I desperately wanted it to land in one place.
Both options felt terrifying because everything at the base of this—his surprise presence, the way we’d danced over the line in the sand lately, the ice cream, the way he was looking at me—was as scary as anything I’d ever imagined between us.
One of my hands settled lightly on my hammering chest, and he took another careful step, erasing precious inches between us. “Or do you want to go first?” he asked. “Because I’m happy to do either.”
Inhaling sharp through my nose, I watched him warily, lifting my chin in a dare. “No matter what I ask?”
“Try me.”
What did I want to ask Jax? A million questions flashed in tandem, the bright pop of a camera bulb, and I tried to see through it, a little blinded by all my options. Brow furrowed, I stared down at the ground for a minute.
He took another step, and I forced myself not to retreat equally. Not because I was scared and not because I didn’twantto be closer, but because the moment he came within touching distance, it felt like we were doomed.
Like there was no alternate end to this scene where it didn’t end with us touching each other.
But I wanted more. I didn’t want a limited flare of heat and the sating of an unquenchable thirst. I wanted his heart, and nothing less than that would do at this point.
“I know you’ve got something in there,” he said gently. “A pretty list of things you’ve always wanted to know.”
“That would’ve been smart,” I whispered. The edge of his delicious mouth curled up, and the flickering heat I felt in response had my toes curling. Licking my suddenly dry lips, I tried to sift through everything I’d ever wanted to know, anything I’d ever wanted more clarity on, and came up entirely short, because there was really only one thing that mattered. One thing that would give me enough to press forward. Holding his gaze, I took a small step forward, and the flare in his eyes—triumph and desire—was exactly what I needed. “Okay, I’ll play.”
The muscle in his jaw flexed while he waited for me to continue.
“Truth or dare,” I said.
There was no hesitation as he spoke. “Truth.”
The thrumming of my pulse was all I could hear as I did too.
