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Mia

Part of me ignited and purred, longing to sink deeper into him, while another, more cautious one screamed warnings in my ear. And maybe if I hadn’t experienced the date Josh, I could’ve settled for this, for the heat of his mouth on mine and the hunger stretching taut between us in shadowy corners.

But I wanted—

Shit.

No…

Panting, I eased out of his grip and took a step back.

I intended to tell him the truth, or as much of it as I could stomach, but something desperate and jagged came out instead.

“So you do only want to get me into bed.”

He stilled, then snatched his hands away as if burned.

“That’s what you think this is?” he rasped.

His voice sounded dangerously calm, but his eyes grew stormy, and his jaw turned to steel.

His fingers slid to my waist again, digging in, as though he didn’t want to let go.

“I want so much more than that, Mia.”

His hand curled in my hair, coaxing my head back as he leaned in, mouth ducking close to my ear, so that his next words whispered against it.

“I want all the little sounds you make. All the things nobody knows about you…”

His lips played with my earlobe, his breath stirring the fine hairs on the side of my neck and igniting my skin all over.

Every inch of my body ached for him.

But my mind and heart refused to budge.

“I want you to be mine,” he whispered, challenging my resolve, before his mouth slid down and pressed a hot, yet gentle kiss to the sensitive skin below my ear.

Sparks exploded along my neck, like he’d dragged a lit fuse alongside it, and my fingers curled into his coat.

“All… mine.”

My heart fluttered in my chest, trying to bust out of my ribs.

God, how I wanted to believe him.

To sink into this syrupy thick heat and forget the rest.

His teeth grazed sensitive skin, raising more goosebumps, before inching towards the dip of my shoulder, as if longing to bite.

Instead, his lips pressed down in an impossibly soft kiss.

Stop it…

A flare of conflicting feelings rose up inside me, the chief of which was sheer panic.

“When nobody’s watching,” I blurted out.

The words sliced the front of my ribs and pulled out my insides.