Page 70 of Beneath the Quiet

“Do you think of me?”

I’m both scared and eager to know her answer.

“Yes.”

“How often do you think of me?”

She raises her hands to lie flat on my chest. “Often.” She cranes her neck, her eyes skittering across my face, and my heart rate picks up. It feels like I’m standing at the edge of a cliff. Do I jump or walk away from the stormy sea that’s bound to rock my existence to smithereens?

But it doesn’t feel like a choice anymore.

My fall is inevitable.

“In what way do you think of me?”

A soft sigh falls from her throat, so sweet and sexy that I shudder.

“In all the ways I shouldn’t when we’re just friends.”

I can’t resist touching her for another second. I raise my hands and slide them up her shoulders, then up to frame her face. Her skin is soft and warm, and her cheeks still burn that beautiful shade of pink. Her eyes darken to a deep moss green as she holds me captive.

“If you think of me as often as I think about you, we have a problem.”

The words scrape my throat, my voice a mere rasp.

Her gaze drops to my lips, and my breath stutters. “Why do we have a problem?”

“Because I want you more than I’ve wanted anyone in a really long time, Mae. Wanting you this much scares the fuck out of me. And I can’t have you.”

There. I’ve said the words that have been burning in my chest for weeks.

“What if I say I want you, too? That I dream of you every night and wake up so turned on that I ache for you?”

I groan, my resolve weakening by the second. “You can’t…We can’t do this. I can’t be what you want.”

“You don’t know what I want, Aidan.”

I pinch my eyes closed and rest my head on her shoulder, but it’s the wrong move because now I can smell her. The hint of cherries mixed with sweat makes my head swim. Her trapped hands move up, away from my chest, and when she wraps her arms around my neck, her fingers running through my hair, a shudder wracks my body.

“What do you want, then?” I grumble.

“Sex. That’s all I want. I don’t want dates or romantic dinners. I promise,” she whispers. “I want to feel what all the spicy romance novels tell me is real. Wanted. Sexy.”

Another groan releases from my lips. “You already are all those things, Mae.”

I’m at my breaking point.

“Please, Aidan…”

“Are you telling me the truth?”

“Yes.”

My cock is rock hard, and I push against her soft flesh, unable to resist her. I open my eyes and breathe into her neck, her skin tempting me to break. Fascinated beyond my wildest dreams, I watch it erupt in goosebumps. She tightens her arms around my neck, and I run my hands down her sides, testing my willpower, and skim my fingertips down the side of her breasts. Her breath stutters, and lust settles in my aching cock. I dig my fingers into her hips, pulling her closer, and when she trembles harder, I move my hands to her arse.

I squeeze it hard and release a long groan.

“Fuuuck, Mae. Your body kills me.” I raise my head, needing to see her clearly. “Tell me about your dreams.”