time had made on her face, “you’re not that girl. You’re a woman. And you’re so damned beautiful, Maddie. You take my breath away.”
She’d always done that. Always took his breath and his thoughts, occupied so much space in his head. In his heart. He’d been afraid she’d take over.
“Tell me,” she said with a thin smile, “do those lines ever actually work? Because I have to say, being on this side of the pickup, I’m sort of shocked you ever get lucky.”
“They’re not lines.” He wished they were. Wished he was spouting bullshit to some stranger he’d met, his only concern getting laid. That his gut wasn’t a tangled knot, his chest not tight with want, his hands aching to feel Maddie’s skin. “You always wanted to know my every thought, my every feeling. Here they are. I couldn’t take my eyes off of you today.”
“Like I said,” she snapped, her shoulders going rigid, “times change. Now, it’s late and—”
“You must have felt it, felt me watching you,” he continued, his fingers tightening on her waist. “No matter what I was doing I could hear your laugh. You’d smile and I remembered how you used to smile at me, how you used to look at me. I wondered if your hair still smelled the same—” He rubbed the end of her braid between his fingers, the strands like silk. “Like lavender. If your skin was still as soft. If you tasted the same.” He trailed his fingers from the line of her jaw down around to cup her neck. His other hand slid under her shirt to caress the curve of her hip. “If you still trembled when I touched you.”
She did. Lust shot through him, settled hot and heavy in his groin.
“It’s just memories.” Her eyes were wide, her tone desperate. “It’s just the past getting confused with the present. It’s not real.”
“Maybe not,” he said, the words barely a rumble in his chest. He tugged her slowly toward him, triumphant and grateful when she didn’t resist. “Let’s find out for sure.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
SHE SHOULD DO SOMETHING, Maddie thought, frantic. Shove him on his ass or dump her beer in his lap. All viable options, options she should take. Instead she let him pull her, oh, so slowly, toward him. It was shock, she told herself, that had her thoughts fuzzy, her chest tight. Not anticipation. Not hope or excitement. Certainly not fear.
His eyes, hot with want, dropped to her mouth. Her lips parted. Her throat dried. Oh, God. She stiffened but his fingers delved into the hair at the nape of her neck and he held her head. Just like he used to. His hand large and warm, his thumb brushing against the sensitive skin on the underside of her jaw. And he was looking at her as if she was the only woman in the entire world, the only one who mattered.
The only one he wanted.
It was a lie, one she’d fooled herself into believing years ago. One she couldn’t afford to believe now.
His face filled her vision, his head blocking the light from the lantern. He became her focus, all she could see was the blue of his eyes, all she could feel was the warmth of his breath on her mouth. He hesitated, his lips a hairbreadth from hers, and that feeling she’d insisted wasn’t anticipation built until she was afraid she couldn’t take it anymore. That if he didn’t close the distance between them, the unthinkable, the unfathomable, would happen.
She would.
He saved her ego and her pride, let her keep believing the lies she told herself, by brushing his mouth against hers. Her breath stuttered out, her heart pounded, the sound echoing in her ears. She froze, her hands clenched in her lap, as his lips settled against hers, warm and firm. He kept the kiss gentle. Sweet. Like their first.
Like their last.
Tears stung her eyes, made her throat burn, but she kept her gaze on his as he eased back.
She tipped her head. “Like I said, just memories.”
Her voice was cool. Calm. There was no way he’d suspect her palms were sweating, that there was an odd and unwelcome fluttering in her stomach.
Wouldn’t know what it’d cost her not to kiss him back.
“You can’t blame a guy for trying,” he said, shifting so that he was crouched in front of her. Then, with a self-depreciating shrug, he smiled.
The tips of her fingers tingled. Her cheeks heated.