Page 49
I ignored her and draped it over her shoulders, feeling them stiffen under my touch as my fingers retreated, leaving phantom warmth behind. The jacket was sodden, but my body heat still clung to the inside lining, so it was better than nothing.
Lightning arced across the sky, and something else flashed over her face. Surprise, maybe?
I wanted to see it again.
Badly.
So I leaned in.
Her mouth parted as my gaze brushed over it.
Something white-hot licked down my spine as lightning cracked the sky in two once more, illuminating her: flushed cheeks, hair sticking to her forehead, pupils swallowing the green whole.
Oh, fuck.
My breath punched out of me.
My hands shot out to push the wet strands out of her face, then lingered against my will. Her skin was burning up, a pleasant contrast to my icy one. I cupped her cheeks, thumbs stroking her jaw in a slow metronome, counting down to the next lightning strike.
Careful fingers tilted her head back, and her eyes pinged open, swimming with a conflicted emotion I couldn’t name.
My lungs stuttered to a stop, then kicked up again with a vengeance as her breath hit my nostrils, slicing through the scent of the rain-slicked brick.
Coffee, cinnamon, and something sweet.
I wanted to taste it off her lips.
Her chest rose and fell against mine as shuddering breaths sawed out of her.
A furious blush crept down her neck, staining it crimson and drawing my eye like a magnet. Why the hell did I want to trace it with my tongue? The heat of it brushed over my skin as I inched in a fraction more.
Her lashes fluttered, until she peered up at me through half-lidded eyes, and the pull in my gut sharpened to the point of pain as I fought not to lean in all the way and—
My thoughts screeched to a violent halt.
Her hand rose in slow motion, as if underwater, and fisted in my shirt. My pulse stumbled as the heat of her fingers bled into my skin, and my traitorous body leaned into it, pressing into her touch.
Shit.
Pull away, goddamn it!
Instead, she clutched at the soaked fabric clinging to my chest, pulling me closer as her gaze dipped to my mouth.
My stomach did a slow, heavy roll.
A sliver of space remained between us, until I almost tasted her breath on my lips, until my lids grew leaden—
Bang!
A door slammed behind us, loud as a whip, echoing in the charged atmosphere.
Ice doused my insides.
I pulled back as if someone had yanked me from the edge of a cliff.
Blinked.
Dragged a trembling hand over my face.
