In Flames - Elise Faber Page 0,21
he’d tried and failed to use his sister as a shield.
And he knew it like he knew that this had always been inevitable, that even though he’d been doing his best to stay away, his resolution to do so had been slowly chipping away.
Until he’d given in.
Until he’d seen that she needed him.
She. Needed. Him.
So, he couldn’t turn away.
Suz cleared her throat, and he realized she wasn’t going to let him off the hook, that she was going to demand an explanation for the nickname.
Maybe he could kiss her until she forgot about the line of questioning.
“No,” she said, “you couldn’t get me to forget.”
He blinked. “What?”
She tapped his temple. “Bond, remember? I heard that thought,” she told him.
“It’s not supposed to be that strong yet.” Bonding made the initial connection, but it was supposed to take time for them to be able to read each other clearly enough to pick up stray thoughts. From what he understood, it was supposed to begin as an impression of feelings, and only as the bond deepened did it grow to something more telepathic.
“Well, strong or not,” she said with a shrug. “I heard that one loud and clear.”
“What else have you heard?”
A frown. “Not much really. Just your mind in the back of mine, the odd stray emotion.” She slid a glance in his direction, a shy smirk. “Mostly desire.”
He slid his palm up and down her arm. “Can you blame me? You’re gorgeous.”
“You certainly gave no indication that you were attracted to me over the years,” she grumbled. “And yes, I know you say it’s because I’m friends with Amelia, but—”
“But what?”
“But . . . there has to be something more.”
“Suz,” he began.
“You can tell me,” she murmured. “If you don’t want this, I understand. It’s not like either of us planned this or really wanted—”
He tugged her to a stop. “Don’t finish that sentence.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t order me around.”
“Then don’t say idiotic things.” Graham cupped her jaw. “You’re much younger than me, Firefly. Young and innocent, and I didn’t want to take any of that time away from you.”
“What time?”
“The time to be you. The time to strike out on your own and figure out the person you wanted to be in this world.” He brushed his thumb along her skin, reveling in the silk of her skin. “I couldn’t intrude on that.”
She paused. “And so, you stayed away?”
“Well,” he said. “It was made a little easier when you left for school.”
“I’ve been back for decades,” she pointed out. “If it was so difficult for you to resist me, you’d think that you would have made a point to reach out to me before now. I’d certainly”—she lifted her fingers, made air quotes—“found myself by then. And no, you couldn’t kiss me and make me forget that point.” She rolled those pretty brown eyes. “You’re not that good of a kisser.”
“Now, that sounds like a challenge,” he said, spinning them around and trapping her against the wall. They weren’t that far from their destination, but he couldn’t let such a sentiment stand.
“It’s not a—”
His mouth dropped to hers, tongue slipping between her lips, teasing hers out to dance with his, and though they were in the middle of a corridor, though anyone could stumble upon them and see this—the proverbial cat escaping the bag—Graham didn’t quite have the strength to stop.
Or couldn’t summon up any reason to, anyway.
Not with her fingers slipping beneath his T-shirt, tracing over the skin on his back, sending rivulets of desire through his body. No instead, he wanted to strip off his shirt and let her touch him anywhere—or kiss him.
Either way, he did have enough control to keep his hands on the wall and not on those sexy curves of hers.
Because if he touched her curves, if he let his control slip that far, he’d strip her naked in this corridor and really give the gossip train something to talk about. He almost didn’t care. He almost lifted his hands from the smooth plaster of that wall. He almost—
Fuck.
He yanked his lips free, breathing heavy, their breaths painting each other’s mouths, hers sweet and with a tinge of coffee making him want to close that half inch, to kiss her all over again.
By some herculean ability, he managed not to.
Stepping back and tucking her to his side again, he guided her back in the direction they’d been walking.
“Why, Graham?” she asked quietly, tentatively, and maybe he might have made a joke or kissed