Page 39 of Shallow Remains

She blinked. Do with it? “It was a compliment.”

He shook his head slightly. “You look at me like that with those big blue eyes, tell me I’m hot while I’m trying to keep my distance?”

Why was he trying to⁠—

She stilled as he stepped between the row of seats separating them. Stared up at him when he paused in front of her, mere inches away while her pulse thudded like a bass drum in her ears.

She held her breath. Didn’t dare move or speak for fear of breaking the spell. Waiting, her entire body humming with anticipation.

Because in spite of her inexperience, it looked like he was about to give her the kiss she’d been hoping for.

NINETEEN

Handsome.

Who even used that word anymore, especially in their speech? It was so old-fashioned.

But somehow from Maddy it seemed just right.

He’d felt the sincerity of the compliment. The gravity of it. Because he knew she only said the truth, and didn’t say things like that often.

If she’d been any other woman, he would already be kissing her. But Maddy was different. The quiet yearning he saw in her eyes was mixed with an uncertainty that tugged at all his heartstrings.

She’d been hurt before. He knew it as surely as he knew that kissing her once would never be enough.

He brushed a lock of hair from her cheek with the edge of his hand, trying to read her. She stood perfectly still, almost holding her breath. As if she might bolt if he moved too fast.

He took her face in his hands, her skin soft and smooth against his palms. “Maddy.”

“Yes?” she whispered.

Damn, he could drown in those deep blue eyes. “I really want to kiss you.”

Her cheeks flushed darker, and her pupils dilated. “Okay.” Her voice held a breathless edge.

If he’d felt more casual about her, he might have grinned at her response because it was so uniquely her. But the way he felt about her was anything but casual. And the way she was staring up at him with a blend of wonder and longing made him ache in places he’d never known existed until now.

He leaned in to cover her lips with his. Absorbed the little jolt that ran through her, the soft gasp. He kept it light while a tide of desire rushed through him. Infused it with all the tenderness she brought out of him while he learned the shape of her lips. She tasted like peppermint tea.

The kiss was pure innocence, yet it knocked the air from his lungs. The brutal punch of need it unleashed took him off guard.

He slid his fingers into her hair. Reined in a wave of hunger while his heart pounded out of control.

Maddy laid her hands on his chest. That same light, tentative pressure as last night’s hug. He bit back a groan at the contact, shifted a hand to cup the back of her head and deepened the kiss slightly. Conscious of not pushing her too hard too fast.

Her fingers flexed on his chest. As if testing his strength. The soft sound of pleasure she made hit straight between his legs.

He wanted more. Deeper. Harder. To pull her tight to him and explore all the sexy curves he couldn’t stop thinking about.

He did none of that.

Instead, he kissed her one last time, gently sucked at her lower lip for a moment because he couldn’t help himself, and lifted his head. Maddy blinked slowly and focused on him with heavy-lidded eyes, her face aglow in the deep pink rays of the autumn sunset.

Jesus, this was crazy. One chaste kiss and he was strung taut as a wire, blood pumping hard and fast, fueling the kind of need he never thought he’d feel again.

He drank her in as he skimmed his thumb across her cheekbone. Couldn’t help pressing a kiss to that spot, then her forehead as he drew her close and enfolded her in his arms.

She snuggled into him with a sigh that felt like a major victory. He closed his eyes and exhaled, holding her while a foreign—or at least long forgotten—sensation flowed through him.