Page 58 of Beneath the Quiet

I waggle my eyebrows at her. “Sounds like a fucking good dream.”

“It was.” She sighs, then raises her hand and pushes a finger against my chest. “But don’t even think for a second that I’m going to tell you what happened.”

“Come on,” I groan. “Not even a little bit?”

“Nope.”

“Now, that’s just plain cruel.”

“Not considering we’re friends and have agreed to keep it that way.”

“We did do that, didn’t we?”

I curse silently, wishing I could throw my rules to the wind.

“We did, and I’m going to keep up my end of our bargain.”

I nod and trace the edge of her jawline with my thumb, distracted by a group of freckles on the corner of her mouth. The thrumming in my cock intensifies, and I close my eyes slowly.

“It would be a really bad idea to break our deal,” I murmur, opening my eyes.

“It would.”

I suck in a breath and let my hand slip away from her face, missing the feel of her skin the moment I do, but it can’t be helped.

If I keep touching her, I’ll forget all my best intentions and kiss her.

Instead, I cock my head again, listening.

“I think the storm’s over.”

“That’s good.” She blinks and shakes her head. “I’ll head on home, then.”

I nod and take a step to the side so that she can slip by, holding my breath when she moves past me.

“Why don’t you have a car?”

She lifts her eyes at me in passing. “I like walking. It clears my head.”

I turn on my heel, not ready for her to leave just yet. “Hmm. It might be safer for you if you find better transportation before winter gets here.”

“I’ll think about it.” She wipes underneath her eyes and frowns. “How bad do I look?”

You look fucking gorgeous.

I don’t say it because I can’t let her know how much I want her right now.

“I think you’ve got the worst of it. Will I see you at Holly’s on Tuesday?”

She turns her head and shrugs. “Maybe.”

Again, she makes it clear that she won’t commit to anything, but I frown at her.

“Not going to turn into a recluse while you’re in Cloonmara, are you? Because that won’t do at all.”

“I’m not. Please tell me it’s not karaoke night, though. I’ll avoid those at all costs.”

I bark out a laugh. “We don’t have them. You’re safe here.”